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=4F34;78
The eight-hour-long fourth
round of talks between the
agitating farmer unions and the
Government on Thursday
failed to end the standoff over
the new farm laws as the pro-
testors refused to accept any-
thing less the repeal of all the
three farm laws. Another round
of discussions will be held on
Saturday in a bid to forge a res-
olution.
Althought the Government
side, led by Agriculture
Minister Narendra Singh
Tomar, assured the group of
nearly 40 farmer leaders that all
their valid concerns would be
discussed and considered with
an open mind, but the farmers
stuck to their demand of
repealing the three “hastily-
passed” farm laws, saying there
were several loopholes and
deficiencies.
Bharatiya Kisan Union
(Ambarta) president Rishipal
said, The Government noted all
points. Ministers assured that
they will look into them and
sought one day’s time.”
The farmer leaders empha-
sised on a five-point set of
demands that seeks to frame a
specific law on Minimum
Support Price (MSP) and end
the punishment provision for
stubble burning.
Farmer leader Kulwant
Singh Sandhu said the govern-
ment made many proposals
including on MSP and pro-
curement system, which would
be discussed among the farmer
organisations on Friday, before
the next meeting.
The farmers emphasised
that the provision to register a
case for stubble burning
should be ended, and asked
why the Government wasn’t
ready to give them “written
assurance” on MSP despite its
earlier statements that MSP
will continue.
The farmer union repre-
sentatives emphasised that a
new law on MSP be framed in
a special session of Parliament,
demanding that it must guar-
antee them MSP not only now
but in the future as well.
The farmer leaders said,
“Let us assume that MSP will
continue but the procurement
would stop. The MSP will
have no meaning then.”
The farmer union repre-
sentatives said the
Government said the three
farm laws were brought in
with the interests of farmers in
mind.
?C8Q =4F34;78
Farmer leaders on Thursday
refused the lunch offered by
the Government during their
meeting with three Union
Ministers here and preferred to
eat the food ferried in a van
from the Singhu border, where
thousands of their colleagues
are sitting in protest against the
new agri laws.
During the lunch break, a
small van carrying food for
around 40 people was seen out-
side the Vigyan Bhawan, where
the meeting is underway.
“Our farmers’ representa-
tives did not accept the lunch
offered by the Government
and we arranged it from the
Singhu border,” Lok Sangarsh
Morcha president Pratibha
Shinde told PTI.
Farmers’ leaders told the
Government to focus on
resolving the issues instead of
trying to be a good host by
offering lunch, said the Lok
Sangarsh Morcha president.
“How can we have lunch
offered by the government
when our fellow farmers are sit-
ting on roads,” said Shinde,
whose organisation, Lok
Sangarsh Morcha, is among the
40 farmers’ groups engaged in
the talks.
B74:70AB8=67Q =4F34;78
As protesting farmers con-
tinued to be adamant on
their demand for scrapping of
the Centre’s agriculture reform
laws and stayed put at the
national Capital’s borders with
Haryana and Uttar Pradesh,
the police on Thursday closed
routes on two national high-
ways connecting Ghaziabad to
Delhi as the farmers sat on the
Delhi-Meerut Expressway.
The protesting farmers
had on Wednesday threat-
ened to block other roads of
Delhi if their demands were
not met.
“The local police have
closed the routes on NH-9 and
NH-24 from Ghaziabad to
Delhi. On NH-1, both sides of
the route have been closed
near Shani Mandir,” the Delhi
Traffic Police tweeted. The
crowd of farmers continued to
swell at Ghazipur, prompting
the police to close the Delhi-
UP border on NH-24.
“The Ghazipur border on
NH-24 is closed for traffic
from Ghaziabad towards Delhi
due to farmers’ protests.
People are advised to avoid
NH-24 for coming to Delhi
and use Apsara/Bhopra/DND
instead,” the traffic police said.
It said NH-44 is closed on
both sides and asked people to
take alternate routes via NH-
8, Bhopra, Apsara border, and
Peripheral expressway.
At the Chilla border, one
carriageway — from Delhi to
Noida — has been opened for
traffic. However, the other
carriageway — from Noida to
Delhi — is still closed.
People commuting from
Noida to Delhi are advised to
avoid Noida link road, the traf-
fic police said. The Delhi-
Haryana border at Jharoda
and Jhatikra remained closed
for traffic movement. The
Badusarai border is open only
for two-wheeler traffic.
?=BQ =4F34;78
The Union Government
on Thursday increased
the cap on domestic flights
up to 80 per cent of the pre-
Covid levels. The domestic
carriers were operating at
70 per cent of their capacity.
Domestic air travel is steadi-
ly reviving after being
allowed to resume on May 25
following a two-month sus-
pension.
While making the
announcement, Union
Minister of Civil Aviation
Hardeep Singh Puri said the
domestic operations in India,
which recommenced with
30,000 passengers on May 25,
have touched a high of 2.52
lakh passengers till
November 30, 2020.
?=BQ =4F34;78
India has said it is monitor-
ing development related to
reports that China plans to
build a major dam on the
Brahmaputra. New Delhi also
said it intended to remain
engaged with China on the
issue of trans-border rivers to
safeguard its interests.
At a media briefing,
External Affairs Ministry
Spokesperson Anurag
Srivastava played down
reports about damn con-
struction and said the
Chinese side has repeatedly
conveyed to India that it was
only undertaking run-of-the-
river hydropower projects,
which do not involve diver-
sion of the waters of the
Brahmaputra.
?=BQ =4F34;78
The Interpol has warned law
enforcement agencies
across the globe that organised
criminal networks could try to
advertise and sell fake Covid-
19 vaccines both physically
and online.
In an Orange notice issued
to all 194 member countries
on Wednesday, the Lyon-based
international police coopera-
tion body warned agencies to
prepare for potential criminal
activity in relation to “the fal-
sification, theft and illegal
advertising of Covid-19 and
flu vaccines”.
“It also includes examples
of crimes where individuals
have been advertising, selling
and administering fake vac-
cines,” the Interpol said in a
statement.
An Orange notice is issued
to warn of an event, a person,
an object or a process repre-
senting a serious and immi-
nent threat to public safety.
The CBI, which is the
national Central bureau for
India, is the nodal agency for
coordination with the
Interpol.
The warning came on the
day the UK became the first
nation to approve a Covid-19
vaccine, leaving behind the US
and the European Union in
the race to approve a vaccine
to contain the pandemic.
?=BQ =4F34;78
Director of AIIMS, Delhi, Dr
Randeep Guleria on
Thursday said he was hopeful
that an emergency regulatory
nod will be given to coron-
avirus vaccine by the end of this
month or early next month to
start vaccinating people.
Amid reports of allega-
tions of an adverse event case
against Covishield vaccine, he
said that safety and efficacy of
vaccine are not compromised
at all. “Around 70,000-80,000
volunteers have received the
vaccine and no significant seri-
ous adverse effects were seen.
The data shows that in the
short term, vaccine is safe,” he
said.
“There is good data avail-
able that the vaccines are very
safe. We should get emergency
use authorisation from Indian
regulatory authorities to start
giving vaccine to public,” Dr
Guleria said to a news agency
here. Dr Guleria is also a mem-
ber of the national task force on
Covid-19 management.
He added, “Chennai trial
case is an incidental finding
rather than related to vaccine.
When we vaccinate a large
number of people, some of
them may have some other dis-
ease, which may not be relat-
ed to vaccine.”
Elderly, people with
comorbidities and front-line
workers should be vaccinated
first, said Dr Guleria.
On vaccine distribution, he
said, “Work is going on at
war-footing both at the Centre
and the State level for vaccine
distribution plan in terms of
maintaining cold chain, having
appropriate storehouses avail-
able, developing strategy, train-
ing vaccinators and availabili-
ty of syringes.”
On Covid-19 pandemic’s
new wave in India, he said,
“Now, we’ve seen a decline in
current wave and I hope this
will continue if we are able to
have a good Covid-19 appro-
priate behaviour. We’re close to
having a big change related to
a pandemic if we manage this
behaviour for the next three
months.”
Continued on Page 2
?=BQ =4F34;78
Navy Chief Admiral
Karambir Singh on
Thursday said attempts to
“change the status quo” on the
northern borders (Line of
Actual Control) has impacted
the security situation and
prompted the Navy to period-
ically deploy its aircraft and
drones at the borders for recon-
naissance in the last six months.
“The year was defined by
the challenge of Covid pan-
demic which has permeated
and disrupted every aspect of
our lives. A near simultaneous
attempt to change status quo on
our northern borders has
increased the complexities in
our security situation,” he said.
Outlining the operational
readiness of the armed forces,
Singh said, “This dual challenge
scenario continues as we speak.
The Army, IAF and Navy were
working in close coordination
to produce the desired results
at the border and ensure secu-
rity. The Navy is ready to face
any threat.”
Addressing the annual
Press conference on the eve of
the Navy Day on Friday, the
Navy chief termed the present
tension at the LAC as still
ongoing.
Replying questions about
the role of the Navy in meet-
ing the challenge at the LAC in
Eastern Ladakh and other
parts, Singh said the Navy
several times deployed its P-8I
long range reconnaissance air-
craft on the Northern borders
during the ongoing standoff.
“The P-8I is a potent plat-
form that has certain equip-
ment that can be used on the
border. Based on the require-
ments of the Army and IAF we
have deployed the P-8I on
several occasions. We have
also deployed the Heron
Unmanned Aerial Vehicle
(UAV) from one of the
Northern bases,” the Navy
chief said in response to a
question.
The reconnaissance air-
craft was also used during the
73-day long face-off in Doklam
near Sikkim in 2017 to get real
time picture. The situation
was defused following parleys
at the highest diplomatic and
political levels then.
On the possible deploy-
ment of the two MQ-9B
Predator drones that were
leased from the US recently at
the LAC, the Navy chief said it
depends on the requirements
of the Army or IAF.
?=BQ 274==08
Tamil Nadu’s tryst with spir-
itual politics materialised
on Thursday as reigning super-
star of Tamil cinema
Rajinikanth declared the for-
mation of his political party.
“If it is not now, it is going
to be never. We will change
everything associated with
Tamil Nadu politics. My victo-
ry will be yours and your vic-
tory will be mine,” declared the
actor in a specially convened
Press meeting at the courtyard
of his Poes Garden Residence
in Chennai.
He said he would declare
the name of the party and plan
of action on December 31.
“We will surely contest the
next Assembly election and
form the Government which
the people have been waiting
for long,” said the superstar.
?=BQ =4F34;78
NDA ally Jannayak Janata
Party (JJP) in Haryana
warned the BJP that it may
not hesitate to step out of the
Government if the demand of
the agitating farmers was not
met by the Centre.
JJP chief Dushyant
Chautala, who is Deputy
Chief Minister of the State
with core electoral base of Jat
farming community, has said
his party would stand with
farmers on the MSP issue.
If the standoff between
the farmers and the Centre
continues, pressure is expect-
ed to increase on all non-BJP
Haryana MLAs who helped
the BJP form the
Government.
=8:00;8:Q 270=3860A7
The honour the BJP
Government bestowed
upon Punjab’s five-time for-
mer Chief Minister Parkash
Singh Badal in 2015 has
apparently ended up embar-
rassing the party. Often
dubbed as the founder of the
NDA, Badal on Thursday
returned Padma Vibhushan —
country’s second highest civil-
ian award — to protest
“betrayal of farmers”.
Rajya Sabha MP Sukhdev
Singh Dhindsa too returned
his Padma Bhushan award to
oppose the farm laws. The BJP
Government, in March 2019,
had presented him the award
after he announced to part
ways with the Akali Dal fol-
lowing political differences
with party chief Sukhbir
Badal, in an apparent attempt
to woo him.
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New Delhi: Punjab Chief
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Thursday made an appeal to
Union Home Minister Amit
Shah and the protesting farm-
ers to find an early resolution
to the impasse over the new
farm laws, saying the agitation
is affecting Punjab’s economy
and the nation's security
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?=BQ =4F34;78
270=3860A7
Underlining that the farm-
ers’ agitation is affecting
Punjab’s economy and the
nation’s security, Punjab Chief
Minister Capt Amarinder
Singh on Thursday made an
appeal to the Union Home
Minister Amit Shah and the
protesting farmers to find an
early resolution to the impasse
over the new farm laws.
Capt Amarinder, who met
Shah at his residence on the day
of the farmers’ scheduled meet-
ing with the Centre, said that
a common ground must be
found soon and the two sides
should not take rigid posi-
tions on the matter.
He has urged the Centre to
“rethink its stand” on the leg-
islations while appealing to
the farmers to find an early
solution to the problem that
was adversely impacting the
state’s economy and also posed
a serious danger to national
security.
The problem needs to be
solved quickly, the Chief
Minister stressed during a cru-
cial meeting here with the
Union Home Minister, whom
he urged to ensure that the
Central Government address-
es the concerns of the farmers.
“I came to meet the Home
Minister to reiterate our posi-
tion and to make a request to
him and the farmers to resolve
this soon because this (agita-
tion) affects the economy of
my Punjab as well as the
security of the nation,” said
Capt Amarinder after the
meeting.
Asked if he was trying to
mediate between the agitating
farmers and the Central
Government, Capt Amarinder
said that a discussion is going
on between the two sides. “It is
for them to resolve…We have
reiterated Punjab’s position,” he
said.
“I and my Government
are not involved in mediation
in any way and the matter has
to be resolved between the
Centre and the farmers, an
early resolution is vital in the
interest of both Punjab and the
country,” said the Chief
Minister.
Stressing the need to pro-
tect MSP (minimum support
price) and continue with the
APMC based Mandi system,
the Chief Minister urged Shah
to listen to the farmers with an
open mind to resolve the stand-
off quickly so that farmers
from Punjab and other states,
including a large number of
women, can return to their
homes.
A solution has to be found
at the earliest, he said, adding
that he had come to meet the
Union Home Minister to reit-
erate Punjab’s stand on the
imbroglio between the farm-
ers and the Central
Government, as well as the
need to secure the future of
the farming community and
agriculture.
The meeting was held
simultaneously with the inter-
action between the agitating
farmer leaders and the
Government at Vigyan
Bhawan.
It has been learnt that the
meeting which was slated in the
morning was delayed by over
two hours and started around
noon.
Notably, the Chief Minister
and the Congress party have
been supporting the farmers’
stir and Punjab State Assembly
had also passed a set of bills
aimed at negating the Centre’s
farm legislation.
Capt Amarinder had earli-
er said that he and his
Government were willing to
mediate in the talks between
the Centre and the farmers in
the collective interest of all.
The protesting farmers, a
large number of whom are
from Punjab, have been hold-
ing sit-ins on the borders of the
national capital.
They are demanding that
the Government withdraw the
new farm laws if it wants them
to end their stir.
4RaefcXVd4V_ecVWRc^Vcde`cVd`]gVZ^aRddVdRjdZeRWWVTedAf_[RSVT`_`^j
?=BQ 270=3860A7
The BJP’s coalition partner
Jannayak Janata Party on
Thursday demanded the with-
drawal of cases registered in
Haryana against farmers who
participated in “Delhi Chalo”
march against the Centre’s
farm laws.
JJP leader Digvijay Singh
Chautala said the cases against
farmers must be withdrawn to
ensure that the situation does
not worsen and no mistrust is
created between farmers and
the government.
“We will talk to the Chief
Minister Manohar Lal and
Home Minister Anil Vij and
tell them to withdraw cases
against farmers so that situa-
tion does not worsen and any
kind of mistrust is not created,
Digvijay said while talking to
the mediapersons.
He said, “This is our
party’s stand on the issue. To
protest peacefully is the fun-
damental right of the farmers.”
Digvijay said that each
case must be withdrawn
immediately.
Notably, Haryana Police
had booked state Bharatiya
Kisan Union (BKU) chief
Gurnam Singh Charuni and
several farmers on the attempt
to murder and rioting charges
in Ambala. Hundreds of farm-
ers were booked on charges of
rioting, participating in unlaw-
ful assembly, obstructing pub-
lic servants from discharging
their duty, damaging public
property and violating various
provisions of the Disaster
Management Act, 2005, in
Ambala, Panipat, Rohtak,
Kaithal, Sirsa and other dis-
tricts of the state a week ago.
The Congress had claimed
that over 20,000 farmers in
Haryana have been booked by
police for various violations
during the “Delhi Chalo”
march.
Congress leader Randeep
Singh Surjewala had con-
demned the BJP-JJP govern-
ment for placing boulders,
multiple steel barricades, get-
ting patches of roads dug,
using water cannons and tear
gas shells to thwart farmers’
march.
Digvijay said that as far as
crop MSP is concerned,
Deputy Chief Minister
Dushyant Chautala has already
made his stance clear by say-
ing that the day he feels there
is a threat to it, he will quit his
post.
He also said the JJP is
hopeful that the issues of the
protesting farmers will be
solved soon and they will soon
return to their homes.The JJP
had on Tuesday suggested that
the Centre should give a writ-
ten assurance to farmers that
the minimum support price
system would continue.
99?bTTZba^[[QPRZ^URPbTbPVPX]bcPVXcPcX]VUPaTab
?=BQ 270=3860A7
Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)
Punjab on Thursday raised
suspicion over the sudden
meeting between the Chief
Minister Capt Amarinder
Singh and Union Home
Minister Amit Shah, main-
taining that it has “raised ques-
tions of propriety”.
The party’s state youth
wing president and Barnala
MLA Gurmeet Singh Meet
Hayer, raising a question of
propriety, said that the meeting
held between the duo, ahead of
the Union Government sched-
uled meeting with the agitating
farmers’ representatives, made
sense especially when the farm-
ers were fighting their suste-
nance.
Hayer said that while noth-
ing had come out of what
transpired between the two
leaders at the meeting, the
Chief Minister should tell the
people of Punjab whether or
not he exerted pressure on the
Home Minister to repeal the
contentious laws.
“Captain’s telling the
Home Minister to review and
reconsider and resolve the
issues and concerns of the
farmers expeditiously make no
sense at this point in time.
These timid remarks by the
Captain reinforced one’s sus-
picion that he, in collusion with
Modi-Shah, are hatching a
conspiracy to weaken the farm-
ers’ struggle,” he said.
$$3 UDLVHV VXVSLFLRQ
RYHU DSW6KDK PHHW ?=BQ 270=3860A7
Punjab on Thursday lost
another ‘son of soil’ from
Bathinda, who has been on the
front protesting against the
powers-that-be — sixth since
November 27, the day when the
farmers had reached Delhi
borders to register their protest
against the Centre’s farm laws.
Lakhvir Singh of Leleana
village in Bathinda district,
having allegiance to Bharti
Kisan Union, Ugrahan, suf-
fered a heart attack at about
2.30 am, at the Delhi-Tikri bor-
der.
In his fifties, Lakhbir was
taken to PGIMS Rohtak, where
he was declared brought dead
by the doctors.
Bathinda farmers’ death
came a day after two farmers
had died on Wednesday during
the protest. Gurjant Singh from
Bachhoana village in Mansa
district died during the protest
near Bahadurgarh border.
Gurbachan Singh (80), from
Bhinder Khurd village in Moga
district, died due to heart attack
during a protest at Moga on
Wednesday.
Lakhbir, who owned
around six acres of agricultur-
al land in his village, is survived
by his wife, a son and a daugh-
ter.
PUNJAB CM ANNOUNCES
Rs 5L EACH TO FAMILIES
OF 2 FARMERS
Punjab Chief Minister
Capt Amarinder Singh on
Thursday expressed grief at the
death of two farmers, Gurjant
Singh and Gurbachan Singh,
while participating in the ongo-
ing protests against the farm
laws.
The Chief Minister has
announced financial assistance
of Rs five lakh each to the fam-
ilies of the farmers, hailing
from districts Mansa and Moga
respectively.
Extending his condolences
to the bereaved families of the
deceased farmers, the Chief
Minister prayed to the
Almighty to give them courage
to bear the irreparable loss in
this hour of grief and grant
eternal peace to the departed
souls.
?=BQ 270=3860A7
Underlining that there are
immense trade opportu-
nities in Punjab, the Finance
Minister Manpreet Singh Badal
on Thursday asserted that he
would soon pursue the case to
revive the Wagah-Attari trade
with the Central Government.
“International Wagah-
Attari trade route is not just a
road between India and
Pakistan, but it is vital for
prosperity and peaceful rela-
tions between both the neigh-
bouring countries. And, its
reach up to Central Asia will
remain crucial for the eco-
nomic upliftment and social
welfare of the Punjabis,” said
Manpreet, after launching a
book “Unilateral Decisions
Bilateral Losses”.
Gauging the points rose to
lessen the international trade
losses in the book, written by
Afaq Hussain and Nikita
Singla, the Director and
Associate Director of Bureau of
Research on Industry and
Economic Fundamentals
(BRIEF) respectively, a New
Delhi-based research and pol-
icy think tank, Manpreet
expressed grave concern over
the current situation of trade
with neighbouring countries.
“I, on the behalf of the
Punjab Government, will pur-
sue the case to revive the
Wagah-Attari trade with the
Government of India,” he said.
Notably, since February
2019, India-Pakistan relations
have been sliding downhill
after the militant attack in the
Pulwama district of Jammu
and Kashmir. The Indian
Government decided to with-
draw the status of Most
Favoured Nation (MFN) for
trade granted to Pakistan since
1996.
“German Statesman Otto
Von Bismark once remarked-
the road to Berlin lies through
Vienna. I sincerely feel that the
road between New Delhi and
Islamabad lies through Punjab.
For Punjabis, a lot is at stake
given their proximity to the
shared border. Trade at Wagah-
Attari had made this shared
border a point of cooperation
and interdependence,” he said.
Virtually joining the dis-
cussion on the book, Congress
MP from Amritsar Gurjeet
Singh Aujla said that Amritsar
doesn’t have any real industry
except for tourism which is also
badly affected due to COVID-
19. He urged the Centre to con-
sider Wagah-Attari trade as a
full-fledged industry for
Amritsar that gives direct and
indirect employment to more
than 25,000 families. Revival of
the trade is very important for
the border district, he added.
In their book, the authors
cited that in 2018-19, the bilat-
eral trade between India and
Pakistan stood at 2.5 billion US
dollars – India’s exports to
Pakistan accounting for 2.06
billion US dollars and India’s
imports from Pakistan at 495
million US dollars.
?=BQ 270=3860A7
Haryana CM Manohar Lal
on Thursday said that a
War Memorial is being built in
Ambala cantonment to com-
memorate the martyrs of India’s
first war of freedom of 1857
and emphasis will be laid on
the martyrs belonging to the
state of Haryana, especially
Ambala and its nearby areas as
this war of Independence orig-
inated from here.The CM was
presiding over a meeting
regarding the ‘Haryana
Bhawan’ being built at ‘Ek
Bharat Shrestha Bharat
Complex’ near ‘Statue of Unity’
in Gujarat.It was informed in
the meeting that the construc-
tion work of the War Memorial
being built on an area of 22
acres in Ambala is likely to be
completed by March 31, 2022.
This War Memorial will have
an open air theatre on an area
spanning 5,000 square metres
which can accommodate 2,000
persons.It will also have an
exhibition hall, food court,
rehearsal room etc. An
Interpretation Centre will also
be built there on a stretch of
2,750 square metres, which
will include a VIP lounge and
a conference room, War
Memorial Orientation Room,
Shops, children’s play area,
reception etc. A museum will
also be built there on an area of
11,000 square metres.
The CM was also apprized
that the Memorial is likely to
attract a large number of
tourists owing to its proximity
to the national highway, which
will further boost the state’s rev-
enue.Home Minister Anil Vij
directed the concerned officials
to include Rakhigarhi in this
War Memorial.He said that
the museum being built in
Ambala will display the histo-
ry of the first war of freedom.
It will also depict the promi-
nent places of revolution,
including Ambala, Meerut, and
Delhi, and the valour of brave
hearts like Jhansi’s Rani
Laxmibai, Tantya Tope, and
Bahadur Shah Zafar. The sym-
bol of war of freedom Lotus
and Chapati (referring to Lotus
and Chapati Movement in
1857) will also be exhibited
here, he said.Likewise, the
architecture marvel of the state
building being built by the
Haryana Government in ‘Ek
Bharat Shrestha Bharat
Complex’, on an area, spread
across 28 acres of land near the
‘Statue of Unity’ on the banks
of the Narmada River in
Gujarat.
FPaT^aXP[X]0QP[P
c^R^T^aPcTPachab^U
8]SXP´bUXabcfPa^UUaTTS^
?=BQ 270=3860A7
The elections to the munic-
ipal bodies of Haryana will
be held on December 27 and
the results will be declared on
December 30.
Haryana State Election
Commissioner Dalip Singh on
Thursday said that the nomi-
nation papers will be filed
from December 11 to 16.
The elections for the seats
of Mayor and member of all the
wards of the Municipal
Corporation in Ambala,
Panchkula and Sonipat and
the President and members of
the Municipal Council in
Rewari, Sampla, Dharuhera
(Rewari) and Ukalana (Hisar)
will be held. Besides this, the
byelection in the Municipal
Committee of Indri (Karnal),
Bhuna (Fatehabad), Rajound
(Kaithal), Fatehabad and Sirsa
have also been notified, he
said.
The model code of conduct
has come into force from
Thursday, Singh said.
The polling will be held
between 8 am and 5.50 pm at
all the polling stations.
He said that all the
COVID-19 guidelines will be
implemented strictly. The
mandatory sanitization of the
polling station will be done a
day before the poll. Every per-
son involved in election activ-
ity and coming to cast a vote
will wear a face mask.
Thermal scanning of all
persons shall be made at the
entry point of the polling sta-
tion. Hand gloves will be pro-
vided to the voter, for signing
on the voter register and press-
ing the EVM button for voting.
Besides this, last one hour
time has been fixed for
COVID-19 patients and those
having virus symptoms to cast
their vote, he added.
Singh said that the election
of municipalities will be con-
ducted by the use of EVMs.
The ballot paper for Mayor and
President shall be of pink
colour and for members it
shall be of white colour. The
State Election Commissioner
further said that the NOTA
(None of the above) option will
be used in these elections.
(OHFWLRQV WR +DUDQD PXQLFLSDO
ERGLHV WR EH KHOG RQ 'HF
?=BQ 270=3860A7
Haryana on Thursday
reported 1,635 fresh
COVID-19 cases, taking the
state’s infection tally to
2,39,239, while 32 more fatal-
ities pushed the death toll to
2520.
Five deaths each were
reported from Hisar and Jind,
four each from Gurugram,
Faridabad, three each from
Bhiwani, Jhajjar, two each from
Karnal, Rohtak, Charkhi Dadri
and one each from Fatehabad
and Panchkula, according to
the state Health department’s
daily bulletin.On November
25, November 24, December 2
and November 18, Haryana
had reported 42, 33, 32 and 30
C0VID-19 deaths respectively.
Among the districts which
reported a big spike in cases are
Gurugram (437), Faridabad
(305), and Sonepat (90).
The number of active cases
in the state stands at 15,516. As
many as 2,21,203 patients have
been discharged after treat-
ment, while the recovery rate is
at 92.46 per cent, the bulletin
added.
Chd reports three deaths,
75 fresh cases
Chandigarh reported three
COVID-19 related deaths as 75
positive cases surfaced on
Thursday. According to the
C h a n d i g a r h H e a l t h
Department’s evening bul-
letin, the death toll reached 284
while the total case tally was
recorded at 17717. A 76 years
old female resident of Sector 30
and a 74 years old male resident
of Dhanas died due to COVID-
19 while a 65 years old female
resident of Sector 41, a case of
accidental fall with head injury
with right Intracranial hemor-
rhage with hydrocephalus, was
tested COVID positive and
expired at PGIMER, the bul-
letin said.
There were 981 active cases
in the city till the evening. 173
patients have recovered in the
past 24 hours pushing the total
number of recoveries to 16452,
the bulletin said. 1.47 lakh
have so far been tested in the
city. In the last 24 hours, 1509
samples were tested and reports
of 103 was awaited, the bulletin
added.
+DUDQD UHSRUWV GHDWKV IUHVK FDVHV
P]_aTTc)FX[[_dabdTRPbTc^aTeXeT
FPVPW0ccPaXcaPSTfXcW2T]caT
]T^aTUPaTaSXTb
CWT2WPbP]]^d]RTS
UX]P]RXP[PbbXbcP]RT^U
C UXeT[PZWTPRWc^cWT
UPX[XTb^UcWTUPaTab
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?=BQ 347A03D=
Dehradun’s Chief Education
Officer today dismissed the
allegation that she favoured the
school management in matters
of the complaints filed by the
parents against schools.
Responding today to vari-
ous allegations levelled by some
parentsandassociationsthatthe
chief education officer (CEO) of
Dehradun Asha Rani Painuly
favours the school management
over the complaints of parents
against them, Painuly said that
she takes every decision on case
to case basis taking its full
authenticity into consideration.
Sincetheschoolshave start-
ed to provide e-classes to stu-
dents as a measure to contain
spread of Covid-19 among stu-
dents and the school staff, sev-
eral parents have lodged their
complaints to the district edu-
cationofficeregardingtheissues
like pressure from schools to
deposit school fees, matters of
overchargingofthefeesandcer-
tainschoolsnotprovidingprop-
er classes to students. Painuly
said that she takes cognizanceof
everycomplaintshereceivesand
investigates both the sides thor-
oughly before making any deci-
sion. She said that she has sent
several notices to those private
schoolsthatwerefoundtobevio-
lating the rules set by the State
Government. However, many
parents and associations have
accused Painuly of being biased
towardstheschoolmanagement.
Aparentsassociationevenrecent-
lystatedthattheyareplanningto
fileacaseagainstCEOasaccord-
ing to them, Painuly allegedly
ignored the welfare of students
and supported some private
schoolsthatpurportedlyexploit-
ed parents during the Covid-19
pandemic.Responding to such
allegations, Painuly said that she
isnotbiasedtowardsanyonebut
rather than going by one side of
the matter, she enquires and lis-
tens to both the parties.
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- 1. B?824:8=6384B0C( 8=34;787B?8C0; =Tf3T[WX) 8]SXP³bb_XRTZX]V P]S37PbP[P^f]Ta PWPbWPh3WPaP_P[6d[PcX UPX[XPac^P[[cW^bTfW^ fPcRWTSWXX]WXbR^_P]h³b PSb^eTacWThTPabSXTSWTaT^] CWdabSPh^a]X]V7TfPb( 6d[PcXfW^fPbPfPaSTScWT R^d]cah³bcWXaSWXVWTbcRXeX[XP] PfPaS?PSP1WdbWP][Pbc hTPafPbd]STaV^X]VcaTPcT]c PccWTPcP2WP]P]3TeX 7^b_XcP[fWTaTWTQaTPcWTSWXb [Pbcb^daRTbbPXS =08=8C0;)3;8B5A ?A46=0=CF4= =PX]XcP[) 0SSaTbbX]VcWT]TTSb ^UadaP[f^T]fW^WPeTc^ fP[ZX[Tbc^aTPRWcWT]TPaTbc W^b_XcP[TeT]SdaX]V_aTV]P]Rh cWT=PX]XcP[PSX]XbcaPcX^]WPb X]ca^SdRTSP_P[P]`dX]bTaeXRT U^aUTaahX]Vf^T]X][PQ^dac^ W^b_XcP[b3XbcaXRcPVXbcaPcT BPeX]1P]bP[aT[TPbTSC [PZW c^cWTRWXTUTSXRP[^UUXRTac^ PaaP]VT$°S^[Xb±c^QaX]V _aTV]P]cf^T]c^cWT]TPaTbc a^PSWTPS^aW^b_XcP[ 20?BD;4 BC055A4?AC4A064=284BQ =4F34;78 The eight-hour-long fourth round of talks between the agitating farmer unions and the Government on Thursday failed to end the standoff over the new farm laws as the pro- testors refused to accept any- thing less the repeal of all the three farm laws. Another round of discussions will be held on Saturday in a bid to forge a res- olution. Althought the Government side, led by Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar, assured the group of nearly 40 farmer leaders that all their valid concerns would be discussed and considered with an open mind, but the farmers stuck to their demand of repealing the three “hastily- passed” farm laws, saying there were several loopholes and deficiencies. Bharatiya Kisan Union (Ambarta) president Rishipal said, The Government noted all points. Ministers assured that they will look into them and sought one day’s time.” The farmer leaders empha- sised on a five-point set of demands that seeks to frame a specific law on Minimum Support Price (MSP) and end the punishment provision for stubble burning. Farmer leader Kulwant Singh Sandhu said the govern- ment made many proposals including on MSP and pro- curement system, which would be discussed among the farmer organisations on Friday, before the next meeting. The farmers emphasised that the provision to register a case for stubble burning should be ended, and asked why the Government wasn’t ready to give them “written assurance” on MSP despite its earlier statements that MSP will continue. The farmer union repre- sentatives emphasised that a new law on MSP be framed in a special session of Parliament, demanding that it must guar- antee them MSP not only now but in the future as well. The farmer leaders said, “Let us assume that MSP will continue but the procurement would stop. The MSP will have no meaning then.” The farmer union repre- sentatives said the Government said the three farm laws were brought in with the interests of farmers in mind. ?C8Q =4F34;78 Farmer leaders on Thursday refused the lunch offered by the Government during their meeting with three Union Ministers here and preferred to eat the food ferried in a van from the Singhu border, where thousands of their colleagues are sitting in protest against the new agri laws. During the lunch break, a small van carrying food for around 40 people was seen out- side the Vigyan Bhawan, where the meeting is underway. “Our farmers’ representa- tives did not accept the lunch offered by the Government and we arranged it from the Singhu border,” Lok Sangarsh Morcha president Pratibha Shinde told PTI. Farmers’ leaders told the Government to focus on resolving the issues instead of trying to be a good host by offering lunch, said the Lok Sangarsh Morcha president. “How can we have lunch offered by the government when our fellow farmers are sit- ting on roads,” said Shinde, whose organisation, Lok Sangarsh Morcha, is among the 40 farmers’ groups engaged in the talks. B74:70AB8=67Q =4F34;78 As protesting farmers con- tinued to be adamant on their demand for scrapping of the Centre’s agriculture reform laws and stayed put at the national Capital’s borders with Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, the police on Thursday closed routes on two national high- ways connecting Ghaziabad to Delhi as the farmers sat on the Delhi-Meerut Expressway. The protesting farmers had on Wednesday threat- ened to block other roads of Delhi if their demands were not met. “The local police have closed the routes on NH-9 and NH-24 from Ghaziabad to Delhi. On NH-1, both sides of the route have been closed near Shani Mandir,” the Delhi Traffic Police tweeted. The crowd of farmers continued to swell at Ghazipur, prompting the police to close the Delhi- UP border on NH-24. “The Ghazipur border on NH-24 is closed for traffic from Ghaziabad towards Delhi due to farmers’ protests. People are advised to avoid NH-24 for coming to Delhi and use Apsara/Bhopra/DND instead,” the traffic police said. It said NH-44 is closed on both sides and asked people to take alternate routes via NH- 8, Bhopra, Apsara border, and Peripheral expressway. At the Chilla border, one carriageway — from Delhi to Noida — has been opened for traffic. However, the other carriageway — from Noida to Delhi — is still closed. People commuting from Noida to Delhi are advised to avoid Noida link road, the traf- fic police said. The Delhi- Haryana border at Jharoda and Jhatikra remained closed for traffic movement. The Badusarai border is open only for two-wheeler traffic. ?=BQ =4F34;78 The Union Government on Thursday increased the cap on domestic flights up to 80 per cent of the pre- Covid levels. The domestic carriers were operating at 70 per cent of their capacity. Domestic air travel is steadi- ly reviving after being allowed to resume on May 25 following a two-month sus- pension. While making the announcement, Union Minister of Civil Aviation Hardeep Singh Puri said the domestic operations in India, which recommenced with 30,000 passengers on May 25, have touched a high of 2.52 lakh passengers till November 30, 2020. ?=BQ =4F34;78 India has said it is monitor- ing development related to reports that China plans to build a major dam on the Brahmaputra. New Delhi also said it intended to remain engaged with China on the issue of trans-border rivers to safeguard its interests. At a media briefing, External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Anurag Srivastava played down reports about damn con- struction and said the Chinese side has repeatedly conveyed to India that it was only undertaking run-of-the- river hydropower projects, which do not involve diver- sion of the waters of the Brahmaputra. ?=BQ =4F34;78 The Interpol has warned law enforcement agencies across the globe that organised criminal networks could try to advertise and sell fake Covid- 19 vaccines both physically and online. In an Orange notice issued to all 194 member countries on Wednesday, the Lyon-based international police coopera- tion body warned agencies to prepare for potential criminal activity in relation to “the fal- sification, theft and illegal advertising of Covid-19 and flu vaccines”. “It also includes examples of crimes where individuals have been advertising, selling and administering fake vac- cines,” the Interpol said in a statement. An Orange notice is issued to warn of an event, a person, an object or a process repre- senting a serious and immi- nent threat to public safety. The CBI, which is the national Central bureau for India, is the nodal agency for coordination with the Interpol. The warning came on the day the UK became the first nation to approve a Covid-19 vaccine, leaving behind the US and the European Union in the race to approve a vaccine to contain the pandemic. ?=BQ =4F34;78 Director of AIIMS, Delhi, Dr Randeep Guleria on Thursday said he was hopeful that an emergency regulatory nod will be given to coron- avirus vaccine by the end of this month or early next month to start vaccinating people. Amid reports of allega- tions of an adverse event case against Covishield vaccine, he said that safety and efficacy of vaccine are not compromised at all. “Around 70,000-80,000 volunteers have received the vaccine and no significant seri- ous adverse effects were seen. The data shows that in the short term, vaccine is safe,” he said. “There is good data avail- able that the vaccines are very safe. We should get emergency use authorisation from Indian regulatory authorities to start giving vaccine to public,” Dr Guleria said to a news agency here. Dr Guleria is also a mem- ber of the national task force on Covid-19 management. He added, “Chennai trial case is an incidental finding rather than related to vaccine. When we vaccinate a large number of people, some of them may have some other dis- ease, which may not be relat- ed to vaccine.” Elderly, people with comorbidities and front-line workers should be vaccinated first, said Dr Guleria. On vaccine distribution, he said, “Work is going on at war-footing both at the Centre and the State level for vaccine distribution plan in terms of maintaining cold chain, having appropriate storehouses avail- able, developing strategy, train- ing vaccinators and availabili- ty of syringes.” On Covid-19 pandemic’s new wave in India, he said, “Now, we’ve seen a decline in current wave and I hope this will continue if we are able to have a good Covid-19 appro- priate behaviour. We’re close to having a big change related to a pandemic if we manage this behaviour for the next three months.” Continued on Page 2 ?=BQ =4F34;78 Navy Chief Admiral Karambir Singh on Thursday said attempts to “change the status quo” on the northern borders (Line of Actual Control) has impacted the security situation and prompted the Navy to period- ically deploy its aircraft and drones at the borders for recon- naissance in the last six months. “The year was defined by the challenge of Covid pan- demic which has permeated and disrupted every aspect of our lives. A near simultaneous attempt to change status quo on our northern borders has increased the complexities in our security situation,” he said. Outlining the operational readiness of the armed forces, Singh said, “This dual challenge scenario continues as we speak. The Army, IAF and Navy were working in close coordination to produce the desired results at the border and ensure secu- rity. The Navy is ready to face any threat.” Addressing the annual Press conference on the eve of the Navy Day on Friday, the Navy chief termed the present tension at the LAC as still ongoing. Replying questions about the role of the Navy in meet- ing the challenge at the LAC in Eastern Ladakh and other parts, Singh said the Navy several times deployed its P-8I long range reconnaissance air- craft on the Northern borders during the ongoing standoff. “The P-8I is a potent plat- form that has certain equip- ment that can be used on the border. Based on the require- ments of the Army and IAF we have deployed the P-8I on several occasions. We have also deployed the Heron Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) from one of the Northern bases,” the Navy chief said in response to a question. The reconnaissance air- craft was also used during the 73-day long face-off in Doklam near Sikkim in 2017 to get real time picture. The situation was defused following parleys at the highest diplomatic and political levels then. On the possible deploy- ment of the two MQ-9B Predator drones that were leased from the US recently at the LAC, the Navy chief said it depends on the requirements of the Army or IAF. ?=BQ 274==08 Tamil Nadu’s tryst with spir- itual politics materialised on Thursday as reigning super- star of Tamil cinema Rajinikanth declared the for- mation of his political party. “If it is not now, it is going to be never. We will change everything associated with Tamil Nadu politics. My victo- ry will be yours and your vic- tory will be mine,” declared the actor in a specially convened Press meeting at the courtyard of his Poes Garden Residence in Chennai. He said he would declare the name of the party and plan of action on December 31. “We will surely contest the next Assembly election and form the Government which the people have been waiting for long,” said the superstar. ?=BQ =4F34;78 NDA ally Jannayak Janata Party (JJP) in Haryana warned the BJP that it may not hesitate to step out of the Government if the demand of the agitating farmers was not met by the Centre. JJP chief Dushyant Chautala, who is Deputy Chief Minister of the State with core electoral base of Jat farming community, has said his party would stand with farmers on the MSP issue. If the standoff between the farmers and the Centre continues, pressure is expect- ed to increase on all non-BJP Haryana MLAs who helped the BJP form the Government. =8:00;8:Q 270=3860A7 The honour the BJP Government bestowed upon Punjab’s five-time for- mer Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal in 2015 has apparently ended up embar- rassing the party. Often dubbed as the founder of the NDA, Badal on Thursday returned Padma Vibhushan — country’s second highest civil- ian award — to protest “betrayal of farmers”. Rajya Sabha MP Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa too returned his Padma Bhushan award to oppose the farm laws. The BJP Government, in March 2019, had presented him the award after he announced to part ways with the Akali Dal fol- lowing political differences with party chief Sukhbir Badal, in an apparent attempt to woo him. RcReY`_eR]dWRZ]RdWRc^VcddeZTe`eYVZcXf_d 1H[W GLDORJXH RQ 6DWXUGD XQLRQV¶ OHDGHUV SUHVHQW ILYHSRLQW GHPDQGV WR *RYW VD ZRQ¶W DFFHSW DQWKLQJ OHVV WKDQ UHSHDO RI DOO WKUHH IDUP ODZV 7Rc^Vcd¶UV]VXReZ`_ cV[VTed8`ge¶dW``U RccR_XVd`h_]f_TY --3 WKUHDWHQV WR ZLWKGUDZ VXSSRUW LI IDUPHUV¶ 063 GHPDQG QRW PHW AVVgVUARcRdYDZ_XY3RUR] cVefc_dARU^RGZSYfdYR_ 7Rc^VcddbfRe`_5V]YZVVcfeVhRjc`RUdS]`TVU ,VVXHV 2UDQJH QRWLFH IHDUV LOOHJDO DGYHUWLVLQJ EPRRX]PcX^]c^bcPacQhhTPaT]S^aTPa[h9P] EYVcVZdX``UUReRRgRZ]RS]VeYRegRTTZ_VdRcVgVcjdRWVdRjd5V]YZ2::D5ZcVTe`c µHVhZ]]TYR_XV E?a`]ZeZTd¶ ?Vh5V]YZa]Rjd U`h_cVa`ce`W UR^Sj4YZ_R `_3cRY^RafecR 8`geZ_TcVRdVd U`^VdeZTW]ZXYe TRae`)!`W acV4`gZU]VgV] 5DMLQLNDQWK WR QDPH KLV SROLWLFDO SDUW RQ 'HF 4cZ^Z_R]_Veh`cd ^RjaVUU]VWRV gRTTZ_Vd+:_eVca`] 5PaTa[TPSTabPaaXeTPcEXVhP]1WPfP] U^acWTXaTTcX]VfXcWcWT6^ec^eTacWT UPa[PfbX]=Tf3T[WX^]CWdabSPh AP]YP]3XaXk?X^]TTa 5PaTabQ[^RZP_Pac^UcWT3T[WXTTadc4g_aTbbfPhSdaX]VcWTXa_a^cTbcPaRW PVPX]bccWT]TfUPa[Pfb^]3T[WXQ^aSTa^]CWdabSPh ?C8 BC0C4B CC0;20B4B340C7BA42E4A43 PWPaPbWcaP '$' ##! !# :Pa]PcPZP ''( '! '$!$'# 0]SWaP?aPSTbW '% #'$%! CPX[=PSd '% % #%#!' :TaP[P %!$ ! $$%' 3T[WX $'!$' (#!#$#$ # DccPa?aPSTbW $#(!!' '#'$ '( FTbc1T]VP[ #( '$!#$ SXbWP ! '' #! APYPbcWP] !##'% !!#%$! CT[P]VP]P ! #(! #%$!% !' 2WWPccXbVPaW !#'% !( (! ' ($ 7PahP]P !(!( !$!!! ! 1XWPa !#( !' !$ 6dYPaPc ! #( # ($#$$ 0bbP ! ('!'%%% 20B4B) ($%#$%$ 340C7B) ( ! 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- 2. ]PcX^]!347A03D=k5A830H k342414A#!! ?=BQ =4F34;78 270=3860A7 Underlining that the farm- ers’ agitation is affecting Punjab’s economy and the nation’s security, Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh on Thursday made an appeal to the Union Home Minister Amit Shah and the protesting farmers to find an early resolution to the impasse over the new farm laws. Capt Amarinder, who met Shah at his residence on the day of the farmers’ scheduled meet- ing with the Centre, said that a common ground must be found soon and the two sides should not take rigid posi- tions on the matter. He has urged the Centre to “rethink its stand” on the leg- islations while appealing to the farmers to find an early solution to the problem that was adversely impacting the state’s economy and also posed a serious danger to national security. The problem needs to be solved quickly, the Chief Minister stressed during a cru- cial meeting here with the Union Home Minister, whom he urged to ensure that the Central Government address- es the concerns of the farmers. “I came to meet the Home Minister to reiterate our posi- tion and to make a request to him and the farmers to resolve this soon because this (agita- tion) affects the economy of my Punjab as well as the security of the nation,” said Capt Amarinder after the meeting. Asked if he was trying to mediate between the agitating farmers and the Central Government, Capt Amarinder said that a discussion is going on between the two sides. “It is for them to resolve…We have reiterated Punjab’s position,” he said. “I and my Government are not involved in mediation in any way and the matter has to be resolved between the Centre and the farmers, an early resolution is vital in the interest of both Punjab and the country,” said the Chief Minister. Stressing the need to pro- tect MSP (minimum support price) and continue with the APMC based Mandi system, the Chief Minister urged Shah to listen to the farmers with an open mind to resolve the stand- off quickly so that farmers from Punjab and other states, including a large number of women, can return to their homes. A solution has to be found at the earliest, he said, adding that he had come to meet the Union Home Minister to reit- erate Punjab’s stand on the imbroglio between the farm- ers and the Central Government, as well as the need to secure the future of the farming community and agriculture. The meeting was held simultaneously with the inter- action between the agitating farmer leaders and the Government at Vigyan Bhawan. It has been learnt that the meeting which was slated in the morning was delayed by over two hours and started around noon. Notably, the Chief Minister and the Congress party have been supporting the farmers’ stir and Punjab State Assembly had also passed a set of bills aimed at negating the Centre’s farm legislation. Capt Amarinder had earli- er said that he and his Government were willing to mediate in the talks between the Centre and the farmers in the collective interest of all. The protesting farmers, a large number of whom are from Punjab, have been hold- ing sit-ins on the borders of the national capital. They are demanding that the Government withdraw the new farm laws if it wants them to end their stir. 4RaefcXVd4V_ecVWRc^Vcde`cVd`]gVZ^aRddVdRjdZeRWWVTedAf_[RSVT`_`^j ?=BQ 270=3860A7 The BJP’s coalition partner Jannayak Janata Party on Thursday demanded the with- drawal of cases registered in Haryana against farmers who participated in “Delhi Chalo” march against the Centre’s farm laws. JJP leader Digvijay Singh Chautala said the cases against farmers must be withdrawn to ensure that the situation does not worsen and no mistrust is created between farmers and the government. “We will talk to the Chief Minister Manohar Lal and Home Minister Anil Vij and tell them to withdraw cases against farmers so that situa- tion does not worsen and any kind of mistrust is not created, Digvijay said while talking to the mediapersons. He said, “This is our party’s stand on the issue. To protest peacefully is the fun- damental right of the farmers.” Digvijay said that each case must be withdrawn immediately. Notably, Haryana Police had booked state Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) chief Gurnam Singh Charuni and several farmers on the attempt to murder and rioting charges in Ambala. Hundreds of farm- ers were booked on charges of rioting, participating in unlaw- ful assembly, obstructing pub- lic servants from discharging their duty, damaging public property and violating various provisions of the Disaster Management Act, 2005, in Ambala, Panipat, Rohtak, Kaithal, Sirsa and other dis- tricts of the state a week ago. The Congress had claimed that over 20,000 farmers in Haryana have been booked by police for various violations during the “Delhi Chalo” march. Congress leader Randeep Singh Surjewala had con- demned the BJP-JJP govern- ment for placing boulders, multiple steel barricades, get- ting patches of roads dug, using water cannons and tear gas shells to thwart farmers’ march. Digvijay said that as far as crop MSP is concerned, Deputy Chief Minister Dushyant Chautala has already made his stance clear by say- ing that the day he feels there is a threat to it, he will quit his post. He also said the JJP is hopeful that the issues of the protesting farmers will be solved soon and they will soon return to their homes.The JJP had on Tuesday suggested that the Centre should give a writ- ten assurance to farmers that the minimum support price system would continue. 99?bTTZba^[[QPRZ^URPbTbPVPX]bcPVXcPcX]VUPaTab ?=BQ 270=3860A7 Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Punjab on Thursday raised suspicion over the sudden meeting between the Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh and Union Home Minister Amit Shah, main- taining that it has “raised ques- tions of propriety”. The party’s state youth wing president and Barnala MLA Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer, raising a question of propriety, said that the meeting held between the duo, ahead of the Union Government sched- uled meeting with the agitating farmers’ representatives, made sense especially when the farm- ers were fighting their suste- nance. Hayer said that while noth- ing had come out of what transpired between the two leaders at the meeting, the Chief Minister should tell the people of Punjab whether or not he exerted pressure on the Home Minister to repeal the contentious laws. “Captain’s telling the Home Minister to review and reconsider and resolve the issues and concerns of the farmers expeditiously make no sense at this point in time. These timid remarks by the Captain reinforced one’s sus- picion that he, in collusion with Modi-Shah, are hatching a conspiracy to weaken the farm- ers’ struggle,” he said. $$3 UDLVHV VXVSLFLRQ RYHU DSW6KDK PHHW ?=BQ 270=3860A7 Punjab on Thursday lost another ‘son of soil’ from Bathinda, who has been on the front protesting against the powers-that-be — sixth since November 27, the day when the farmers had reached Delhi borders to register their protest against the Centre’s farm laws. Lakhvir Singh of Leleana village in Bathinda district, having allegiance to Bharti Kisan Union, Ugrahan, suf- fered a heart attack at about 2.30 am, at the Delhi-Tikri bor- der. In his fifties, Lakhbir was taken to PGIMS Rohtak, where he was declared brought dead by the doctors. Bathinda farmers’ death came a day after two farmers had died on Wednesday during the protest. Gurjant Singh from Bachhoana village in Mansa district died during the protest near Bahadurgarh border. Gurbachan Singh (80), from Bhinder Khurd village in Moga district, died due to heart attack during a protest at Moga on Wednesday. Lakhbir, who owned around six acres of agricultur- al land in his village, is survived by his wife, a son and a daugh- ter. PUNJAB CM ANNOUNCES Rs 5L EACH TO FAMILIES OF 2 FARMERS Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh on Thursday expressed grief at the death of two farmers, Gurjant Singh and Gurbachan Singh, while participating in the ongo- ing protests against the farm laws. The Chief Minister has announced financial assistance of Rs five lakh each to the fam- ilies of the farmers, hailing from districts Mansa and Moga respectively. Extending his condolences to the bereaved families of the deceased farmers, the Chief Minister prayed to the Almighty to give them courage to bear the irreparable loss in this hour of grief and grant eternal peace to the departed souls. ?=BQ 270=3860A7 Underlining that there are immense trade opportu- nities in Punjab, the Finance Minister Manpreet Singh Badal on Thursday asserted that he would soon pursue the case to revive the Wagah-Attari trade with the Central Government. “International Wagah- Attari trade route is not just a road between India and Pakistan, but it is vital for prosperity and peaceful rela- tions between both the neigh- bouring countries. And, its reach up to Central Asia will remain crucial for the eco- nomic upliftment and social welfare of the Punjabis,” said Manpreet, after launching a book “Unilateral Decisions Bilateral Losses”. Gauging the points rose to lessen the international trade losses in the book, written by Afaq Hussain and Nikita Singla, the Director and Associate Director of Bureau of Research on Industry and Economic Fundamentals (BRIEF) respectively, a New Delhi-based research and pol- icy think tank, Manpreet expressed grave concern over the current situation of trade with neighbouring countries. “I, on the behalf of the Punjab Government, will pur- sue the case to revive the Wagah-Attari trade with the Government of India,” he said. Notably, since February 2019, India-Pakistan relations have been sliding downhill after the militant attack in the Pulwama district of Jammu and Kashmir. The Indian Government decided to with- draw the status of Most Favoured Nation (MFN) for trade granted to Pakistan since 1996. “German Statesman Otto Von Bismark once remarked- the road to Berlin lies through Vienna. I sincerely feel that the road between New Delhi and Islamabad lies through Punjab. For Punjabis, a lot is at stake given their proximity to the shared border. Trade at Wagah- Attari had made this shared border a point of cooperation and interdependence,” he said. Virtually joining the dis- cussion on the book, Congress MP from Amritsar Gurjeet Singh Aujla said that Amritsar doesn’t have any real industry except for tourism which is also badly affected due to COVID- 19. He urged the Centre to con- sider Wagah-Attari trade as a full-fledged industry for Amritsar that gives direct and indirect employment to more than 25,000 families. Revival of the trade is very important for the border district, he added. In their book, the authors cited that in 2018-19, the bilat- eral trade between India and Pakistan stood at 2.5 billion US dollars – India’s exports to Pakistan accounting for 2.06 billion US dollars and India’s imports from Pakistan at 495 million US dollars. ?=BQ 270=3860A7 Haryana CM Manohar Lal on Thursday said that a War Memorial is being built in Ambala cantonment to com- memorate the martyrs of India’s first war of freedom of 1857 and emphasis will be laid on the martyrs belonging to the state of Haryana, especially Ambala and its nearby areas as this war of Independence orig- inated from here.The CM was presiding over a meeting regarding the ‘Haryana Bhawan’ being built at ‘Ek Bharat Shrestha Bharat Complex’ near ‘Statue of Unity’ in Gujarat.It was informed in the meeting that the construc- tion work of the War Memorial being built on an area of 22 acres in Ambala is likely to be completed by March 31, 2022. This War Memorial will have an open air theatre on an area spanning 5,000 square metres which can accommodate 2,000 persons.It will also have an exhibition hall, food court, rehearsal room etc. An Interpretation Centre will also be built there on a stretch of 2,750 square metres, which will include a VIP lounge and a conference room, War Memorial Orientation Room, Shops, children’s play area, reception etc. A museum will also be built there on an area of 11,000 square metres. The CM was also apprized that the Memorial is likely to attract a large number of tourists owing to its proximity to the national highway, which will further boost the state’s rev- enue.Home Minister Anil Vij directed the concerned officials to include Rakhigarhi in this War Memorial.He said that the museum being built in Ambala will display the histo- ry of the first war of freedom. It will also depict the promi- nent places of revolution, including Ambala, Meerut, and Delhi, and the valour of brave hearts like Jhansi’s Rani Laxmibai, Tantya Tope, and Bahadur Shah Zafar. The sym- bol of war of freedom Lotus and Chapati (referring to Lotus and Chapati Movement in 1857) will also be exhibited here, he said.Likewise, the architecture marvel of the state building being built by the Haryana Government in ‘Ek Bharat Shrestha Bharat Complex’, on an area, spread across 28 acres of land near the ‘Statue of Unity’ on the banks of the Narmada River in Gujarat. FPaT^aXP[X]0QP[P c^R^T^aPcTPachab^U 8]SXP´bUXabcfPa^UUaTTS^ ?=BQ 270=3860A7 The elections to the munic- ipal bodies of Haryana will be held on December 27 and the results will be declared on December 30. Haryana State Election Commissioner Dalip Singh on Thursday said that the nomi- nation papers will be filed from December 11 to 16. The elections for the seats of Mayor and member of all the wards of the Municipal Corporation in Ambala, Panchkula and Sonipat and the President and members of the Municipal Council in Rewari, Sampla, Dharuhera (Rewari) and Ukalana (Hisar) will be held. Besides this, the byelection in the Municipal Committee of Indri (Karnal), Bhuna (Fatehabad), Rajound (Kaithal), Fatehabad and Sirsa have also been notified, he said. The model code of conduct has come into force from Thursday, Singh said. The polling will be held between 8 am and 5.50 pm at all the polling stations. He said that all the COVID-19 guidelines will be implemented strictly. The mandatory sanitization of the polling station will be done a day before the poll. Every per- son involved in election activ- ity and coming to cast a vote will wear a face mask. Thermal scanning of all persons shall be made at the entry point of the polling sta- tion. Hand gloves will be pro- vided to the voter, for signing on the voter register and press- ing the EVM button for voting. Besides this, last one hour time has been fixed for COVID-19 patients and those having virus symptoms to cast their vote, he added. Singh said that the election of municipalities will be con- ducted by the use of EVMs. The ballot paper for Mayor and President shall be of pink colour and for members it shall be of white colour. The State Election Commissioner further said that the NOTA (None of the above) option will be used in these elections. (OHFWLRQV WR +DUDQD PXQLFLSDO ERGLHV WR EH KHOG RQ 'HF ?=BQ 270=3860A7 Haryana on Thursday reported 1,635 fresh COVID-19 cases, taking the state’s infection tally to 2,39,239, while 32 more fatal- ities pushed the death toll to 2520. Five deaths each were reported from Hisar and Jind, four each from Gurugram, Faridabad, three each from Bhiwani, Jhajjar, two each from Karnal, Rohtak, Charkhi Dadri and one each from Fatehabad and Panchkula, according to the state Health department’s daily bulletin.On November 25, November 24, December 2 and November 18, Haryana had reported 42, 33, 32 and 30 C0VID-19 deaths respectively. Among the districts which reported a big spike in cases are Gurugram (437), Faridabad (305), and Sonepat (90). The number of active cases in the state stands at 15,516. As many as 2,21,203 patients have been discharged after treat- ment, while the recovery rate is at 92.46 per cent, the bulletin added. Chd reports three deaths, 75 fresh cases Chandigarh reported three COVID-19 related deaths as 75 positive cases surfaced on Thursday. According to the C h a n d i g a r h H e a l t h Department’s evening bul- letin, the death toll reached 284 while the total case tally was recorded at 17717. A 76 years old female resident of Sector 30 and a 74 years old male resident of Dhanas died due to COVID- 19 while a 65 years old female resident of Sector 41, a case of accidental fall with head injury with right Intracranial hemor- rhage with hydrocephalus, was tested COVID positive and expired at PGIMER, the bul- letin said. There were 981 active cases in the city till the evening. 173 patients have recovered in the past 24 hours pushing the total number of recoveries to 16452, the bulletin said. 1.47 lakh have so far been tested in the city. In the last 24 hours, 1509 samples were tested and reports of 103 was awaited, the bulletin added. +DUDQD UHSRUWV GHDWKV IUHVK FDVHV P]_aTTc)FX[[_dabdTRPbTc^aTeXeT FPVPW0ccPaXcaPSTfXcW2T]caT ]T^aTUPaTaSXTb CWT2WPbP]]^d]RTS UX]P]RXP[PbbXbcP]RT^U C UXeT[PZWTPRWc^cWT UPX[XTb^UcWTUPaTab WPX[X]VUa^SXbcaXRcbP]bP P]S^VPaTb_TRcXeT[h ?=BQ 347A03D= Dehradun’s Chief Education Officer today dismissed the allegation that she favoured the school management in matters of the complaints filed by the parents against schools. Responding today to vari- ous allegations levelled by some parentsandassociationsthatthe chief education officer (CEO) of Dehradun Asha Rani Painuly favours the school management over the complaints of parents against them, Painuly said that she takes every decision on case to case basis taking its full authenticity into consideration. Sincetheschoolshave start- ed to provide e-classes to stu- dents as a measure to contain spread of Covid-19 among stu- dents and the school staff, sev- eral parents have lodged their complaints to the district edu- cationofficeregardingtheissues like pressure from schools to deposit school fees, matters of overchargingofthefeesandcer- tainschoolsnotprovidingprop- er classes to students. Painuly said that she takes cognizanceof everycomplaintshereceivesand investigates both the sides thor- oughly before making any deci- sion. She said that she has sent several notices to those private schoolsthatwerefoundtobevio- lating the rules set by the State Government. However, many parents and associations have accused Painuly of being biased towardstheschoolmanagement. Aparentsassociationevenrecent- lystatedthattheyareplanningto fileacaseagainstCEOasaccord- ing to them, Painuly allegedly ignored the welfare of students and supported some private schoolsthatpurportedlyexploit- ed parents during the Covid-19 pandemic.Responding to such allegations, Painuly said that she isnotbiasedtowardsanyonebut rather than going by one side of the matter, she enquires and lis- tens to both the parties. 2WXTU4SdRPcX^]UUXRTaad[Tb^dc P]hUPe^dac^fPaSb_aXePcTbRW^^[b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·V ZLOO QRW EH KHOG UHVSRQVLEOH IRU DQ NLQG RI FODLP PDGH E WKH DGYHUWLVHUV RI WKH SURGXFWV VHUYLFHV DQG VKDOO QRW EH PDGH UHVSRQVLEOH IRU DQ NLQG RI ORVV FRQVHTXHQFHV DQG IXUWKHU SURGXFWUHODWHG GDPDJHV RQ VXFK DGYHUWLVHPHQWV
- 3. 347A03D=k5A830H k342414A#!! dccPaPZWP]S 20=383=C4B 1A028=65A10CC;4 1hPZX]VPb[Tf^UP__^X]cT]cb X]SXUUTaT]cQ^PaSbP]SPbbXV]X]V aTb_^]bXQX[XcXTbc^SXUUTaT]c[TPSTab ^UcWTbPUUa^]_PachcWT2WXTU X]XbcTaCBAWPbcaXTSc^PbbdPVT cWTWdacbT]cXT]cb^UP]hX]cWT _PachP]SPZTcWX]VbTPbhU^a WXYdbcPWTPS^UcWTc^da^U ]PcX^]P[_aTbXST]c^UcWT_Pach CBAWPbP[aTPShb^d]STScWT QdV[TU^acWTSTRXbXeTQPcc[T^U PbbTQ[hT[TRcX^]bb[PcTSX]TPa[h_Pac ^U!!!QhTQPaZX]V^]PbTaXTb^U X]PdVdaPcX^]bP]SU^d]SPcX^]bc^]T[PhX]VRTaT^]XTb^UP]h_a^YTRcb c^_^acaPhPSTeT[^_T]cUaXT]S[hXPVT^UWXbQTU^aTcWTT[TRc^aPcT^UcWT bcPcTcWPcWPbPaT_dcPcX^]^UUPe^daX]VPRWP]VTX]cWT_^[XcXRP[QPcc[Tb CWX]VbPc_aTbT]c[^^Za^bhU^aWXPbcWT[TPSTab^UcWT_aX]RX_P[ ^__^bXcX^]_PachP__TPaQdbXTaX]bTcc[X]VS^f]_Tab^]P[bR^aTbaPcWTa cWP]cPZX]VcWTad[X]V_PachWTPS^]0ccWTX]caP_Pach[TeT[c^^cWT X]RdQT]c2P__TPabX]c^cP[R^]ca^[^UcWTbXcdPcX^]fXcWb^T ^RRPbX^]P[e^XRT^USXbbT]cfWXRWRP]QTcTaTS_TaUTRc[h]^aP[CWTbT UPRc^abR^d_[TSfXcWcWTUPRccWPccWTX_^acP]cbd__^ac^UcWT_^fTaUd[ Sd^^U=P^P]SBWPWXbfXcWWXPZX]VWXb_^bXcX^]eTahU^aXSPQ[T fXcWX]cWT_Pach B;44?4A24;;B CWPccWT2^]VaTbb_PachX]cWT7XP[PhP]BcPcTXbPSXeXSTSW^dbTXb Z]^f]UPRcQdc^][haTRT]c[hXcfPbSXbR[^bTScWPccWT_PachfWXRWWPb ad[TScWTbcPcTU^aWP[U^UcWTcXTPUcTaXcfPbRPaeTS^dc^UD?cfT]ch hTPabPV^WPbb[TT_TaRT[[b^U19?fXcWX]XcCWTbTRT[[bQTRPTPRcXeT PWTPS^UT[TRcX^]bc^SPPVTcWT_a^b_TRcb^UcWT2^]VaTbbRP]SXSPcTb CWXbSXbR[^bdaTfPbPSTQh]^]T^cWTacWP]cWTST_dch[TPSTa^UcWT _PachX]cWTbcPcTPbbTQ[hPUcTaP]^W^[SQPaaTSdSb[X]VX]VQPcc[T T]bdTSX]cWT_Pach^]cWTXbbdT^U[TPSTabWX_8cXbcadTcWPcP[PaVT UPRcX^]^fX]VP[[TVXP]RTc^cWT2^]VaTbbbcP[fPacP]SU^aTaRWXTU X]XbcTa7PaXbWAPfPcXb]^fVTccX]VaTbc[TbbP]SfP]cbcWPccWT_Pach bW^d[SU^aP[[hSTR[PaTAPfPcPbXcb2RP]SXSPcTU^a!!!PbbTQ[h T[TRcX^]fWX[TcWTbd__^acTab^UX]RdQT]c?22RWXTU?aXcPBX]VWP]S ;TPSTa^U__^bXcX^]8]SXaP7aXSPhTbWbca^]V[h^__^bTcWTXSTP6PT ^UQaX]ZP]bWX_XbR^^]X]_^[XcXRP[_PacXTbP]SXb^aT_aTeP[T]cX] cWT2^]VaTbbQdccWT_XcRWPcfWXRWcWTQPcc[TXbQTX]VU^dVWcfXcWX]cWT DccPaPZWP]S2^]VaTbbbdVVTbcbcWPccWTb[TT_TaRT[[b^U19?f^d[S]^c QTaT`dXaTSX]cWTQPcc[T^U!!! E4AB8=C4=B8= 8cXb]^aP[U^acWTQTPcaT_^acTab^U]Tfb_P_TabTb_TRXP[[h[^RP[^]Tb P]ScWT]TfbRWP]]T[bc^bWPaTX]U^aPcX^]P^]VcWTbT[eTbfWXRW PZTbcWTXacPbZbb^TfWPcTPbXTaC^PSSfTXVWcc^cWTXabc^aXTbcWT bRaXQTbX]R[dSTeTabX^]b^UaT[TeP]cPdcW^aXcXTbP]SfWT]b^T^UUXRXP[b S^]³c_XRZd_cWTXa_W^]TcWThd]STa_aTbbdaTUa^cWTTSXc^acT]Sc^ PSSb^TbX_[TbcPcTT]c]^]R^]ca^eTabXP[^UcWT_Tab^]R^]RTa]TS fXcW^dcTeT]WXdccTaX]VPf^aSCWTcaXRZ]^aP[[hf^aZbPbcWT eTabX^]QTX]VWPa[TbbXb]^cR^]cTbcTSQhcWT_Tab^]R^]RTa]TS 7^fTeTaX]P]X]cTaTbcX]VRPbTWP__T]TSaTRT]c[hcWTSXaTRc^a^U 3TWaPSd]PXa_^acXbbdTSPbcPcTT]ccWPccWTeTabX^]_aX]cTSX]cf^ [TPSX]VSPX[XTbPQ^dcP[T^_PaST]cTaX]VcWTPXa_^accTaX]P[fPb]TeTa VXeT]QhWXCWTSXaTRc^aR[PaXUXTScWPcQ^cWcWTQ^d]SPahfP[[P]ScWT UT]RTTaTRcTS^eTaXcPaTX]_TaUTRcR^]SXcX^]P]SPb_TacWTaT`dXaTS bcP]SPaSb8]cWT]Tfb_P_TabWTfPb`d^cTSPbbPhX]VcWPccWT^aSTabU^a aT_PXaX]VcWTUT]RT^UcWTcTaX]P[WPeTQTT]VXeT] 6PYT]SaPBX]VW=TVX ?=BQ 347A03D= Reacting strongly to the arrest of one of its State general secretaries, the Uttarakhand Congress today held that the party workers would not toler- ate the harassment of their cadre. This comes after Senior Congress leader Yaqub Siddique was arrested by Tehri police on Wednesday night. On Thursday a delegation of senior Congress leaders met the Director General (DG) of Uttarakhand Police Ashok Kumar and regis- tered its strong protest over the issue. The delegation was led by the State Congress president Pritam Singh. The Congress leaders told the DGP that the party would not tolerate if the police would harass the party workers due to political pre- sumptions. Referring to the incident, the PCC president explained that Yaqub was arrest- ed unlawfully from his Shimla Bye-pass residence in Dehradun by the Tehri police. After meeting the DGP, the Congress leaders disclosed that the DGP has assured that impartial inquiry of the matter would be done. The DGP added that he has directed the Inspector General (IG) Garhwal to investigate the issue. The Vice President of Uttarakhand Congress Surya Kant Dhasmana, general secretary Rajendra Shah, Naveen Joshi, Ajay Singh and Mahesh Joshi accompanied the PCC presi- dent. 2^]VST[TVPcX^] TTcb36? 0bW^Z:dP 7PaPbbT]c^U_Pach f^aZTab]^cc^QT c^[TaPcTS)?22RWXTU ?=BQ 347A03D= The Uttarakhand governor Baby Rani Maurya has summoned the Vidhan Sabha on December 21 for its third session this year.Speaking about the three day session, the Vidhan Sabha speaker Prem Chand Agrawal said that all necessary precautions will be observed in the session which is to be held till December 24. He said, “We had held a one day session during September and then too all necessary precautions had been observed in view of Covid-19. This time it is a three day session. Some time ago the incidence of Covid cases had dropped but now they have started to rise again. Considering this, social dis- tancing, hygiene and other precautions will be observed effectively during the session Assembly session,” said the speaker. ?=BQ 347A03D= SCPCR has sought prompt action towards improving education facilities for differ- ently abled children in the State. Chairperson of State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (SCPCR) Usha Negi today instructed the direc- tor general of school education to work on the orders and poli- cies by Uttarakhand High Court and the Central Government that calls for tak- ing effective steps towards improving the education facil- ities for differently-abled chil- dren in the state. Usha Negi argued the gov- ernment has increased the reservation quota for differ- ently-abled from three percent to four percent in govern- ment jobs and services in order to increase employment opportunities for them but if these children will remain illiterate, this quota is of no use. She informed that about 22,000 differently-abled stu- dents from class I to class VIII were identified in the state and admitted in the govern- ment schools under Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan. In order to ensure that all such students reach the school regularly, two teachers were appointed in each block but the education department withdrew them from their duties in the year 2013-2014 due to which thou- sands of students could not go to school, informed Negi. She also said that Uttarakhand High Court has directed on July 11, 2018 that special edu- cation teachers must be appointed in every CBSE school so that differently- abled children can get the education like other students in schools but no post has been created for such teachers by the government. According to Negi, the Central Government has even fixed the salary of special edu- cators from class I to class XII ranging from C15,000 to C 25,000 per month but the state government has not even made any proposal in this regard which could have pro- vided ample of employment opportunities to several eligi- ble candidates across the State. On receiving several com- plaints, the Central Government also directed the state education department on October 14, 2016 to appoint special education teachers in the schools but nothing has been done by the department, said Negi. Meanwhile, she has also instructed the director gener- al of school education to sub- mit a report to the commission within one month in this regard. ?=BQ 70;3F0=8 Alabourer was trampled to death and three others injured when they had an encounter with the herd of ele- phants in Bindukhatta region of Haldwani in the Kumaon divi- sion of the state on Wednesday night. The deceased identified as Bhutali, a daily wage labourer from Champaran in Bihar was working in the Bindukhatta area. During Wednesday night, he alongwith his colleagues were attacked by a herd of ele- phants in the Rawatnagar area of Bindukhatta. While Bhutali was trampled to death, his col- leagues Aniruddh,who is the brother of the deceased and Kushinagar Uttar Pradesh res- idents Kedar and Raghav were injured in the incident. The elephants also destroyed number of huts in the areas and the villagers were forced to flee to save their lives. As the deceased was a labourer engaged in quarrying works in the Gola river of Lalkuan, Labourers today in large numbers staged a protest and sought adequate compen- sation for the family of the deceased from the forest authorities. They were joined by other quarrying staff at the Gola river. The protesters even refused to take the body of the deceased. Local MLA Naveen Dumka and former MLA Harish Chandra Durgapal reached the site of protest and intervened in the matter. They even talked to the local admin- istration over phone. After long dialogue with the local forest authorities and the administration, it was decided the local forest author- ities will provide three lakh as compensation while the forest development corporation will provide another lakh to the family of deceased. It was thus only after the forest authorities announced a compensation of four lakh rupees that the pro- testers withdrew their agitation. ;PQ^daTacaP_[TSQh T[T_WP]cX]1X]SdZWPccP ?=BQ 347A03D= The Bharatiya Janata Party national president JP Nadda’s four-day Uttarakhand tour will begin today. On his first day in the State, Nadda will interact with members of the religious fraternity in Haridwar while during the remaining three days, he will participate in a total of 14 organisational meetings and programmes in Dehradun. The BJP state president Banshidhar Bhagat said that the party’s national president’s tour of Uttarakhand will be historic. He said, “The BJP national president is starting his 120-day nation-wide tour from Uttarakhand where he will stay from December 4 to 7. On the first day of his tour he will par- ticipate in the Ganga Arti in Haridwar and meet members of the religious fraternity. From December 5 to 7 he will attend various organisational meetings and programmes in Dehradun. He will hold meetings with the cabinet and core committee and will also attend meetings with booth committee and zonal committee.” Bhagat further informed that on Friday, Nadda will reach Haridwar by helicopter at 4 PM. There he will attend worship at Ganga Arti at Har Ki Paidi. After that he will visit Shantikunj, Akhil Bharatiya Akhada Parishad and Niranjani Akhada to interact with members of the religious fraternity. The BJP State pres- ident said that what is note- worthy in this tour of the party’s national president is that while he will meet the cab- inet and core committee, he will also meet with committees of the party’s two primary units- booth and zone. He said that this will be the first time in history of the nation and any political party when a party’s national president will sit along with the State, district, zone and booth committees’ heads and hold a meeting with booth level office bearers. Bhagat further said that along with welcoming the party’s national president, the partic- ipation of party workers and the public will be ascertained while observing necessary Covid guidelines. “It is a mat- ter of pride for us that our national president is starting his national tour from Uttarakhand and that he will participate in the Ganga Arti and meet members of the reli- gious fraternity on his first day here,” added Bhagat. ?RUUR¶d_ReZ`_hZUVe`fc e`SVXZ_Wc`^F¶YR_U ?=BQ 347A03D= All works of a permanent nature related to the Kumbh Mela 2021 should be completed by December 31 this year.By January 31, 2021 all the works related to the Kumbh Mela should be completed. Chief minister Trivendra Singh Rawat said this while inspect- ing various works and bridges in the Kumbh Mela area. Earlier, he also inspected national highway works between Narsan and Roorkee along with construction works on the Roorkee bypass. After inspecting the Kumbh Mela works, the CM offered prayers at Har Ki Paidi in Haridwar. Later, while chairing a review meeting with officials, the CM directed that works related to the Kumbh Mela should be completed on time without fail. If needed, the number of labourers and work shifts should be increased. He directed the Public Works Department that in the Kumbh area the temples, Ashrams, Dharmshalas, Akhadas and Peshwai Marg should be repaired. Along with this, the Manasa Devi and Chandi Devi routes should also be strength- ened. He further directed offi- cials to seriously take the need for maintaining transparency and executing all works with honesty so that there is no pos- sibility of questions being raised during or after the Kumbh Mela. The meeting was also attended by the Urban Development minister Madan Kaushik, MLA Adesh Chauhan, chief secretary Om Prakash, PWD secretary RK Sudhanshu, Drinking Water secretary Nitesh Jha, Urban Development secretary Shailesh Bagauli, Health secre- tary Pankaj Pandey, Kumbh Mela officer Deepak Rawat, Kumbh inspector general Sanjay Gunjyal and other offi- cials concerned. After the meeting, the CM inaugurated the 33/11 KV sub- stations of the UPCL at Jagjeetpur and Laltaro. The two new sub-stations have been built considering the elec- tricity demand for temporary sectors and parking facilities during the Kumbh 2021 and for better load management among the sub-stations at pre- sent. 4]bdaTcaP]b_PaT]RhcXTQ^d]S R^_[TcX^]^U:dQWf^aZb)2 B2?2AU^a_a^_cX_a^eTT]c^UTSdRPcX^] UPRX[XcXTbU^aSXUUTaT]c[hPQ[TSRWX[SaT] CWaTTSPh0bbTQ[hBTbbX^]Ua^3TR! 0VaXRd[cdaTX]XbcTaBdQ^SWD]XhP[eXTfb_a^SdRcbPUcTaX]PdVdaPcX]V^aVP]XR^ST[^dc[Tc^UcWTDccPaPZWP]SaVP]XR 2^^SXch1^PaSX]3TWaPSd]^]CWdabSPh ?X^]TTa_W^c^ ?=BQ 347A03D= Chief minister Trivendra Singh Rawat has directed the officials concerned to pro- vide executing agencies the cooperation as per their requirement to expedite work on the Rishikesh-Karnprayag rail line. It is important for this project- connected to the inter- ests of the state- to be com- pleted on time, he said. For this, focus should be laid on swift redressal of issues of the Rail Vikas Nigam Limited (RVNL) and the executing agencies working on different packages for construction of the rail line. The CM said this while chairing a meeting with offi- cials concerned to review the progress of the project. The CM said that all the district magistrates have been directed to resolve project relat- ed issues in their respective areas. The Rishikesh- Karnprayag rail line and the Char Dham road project are important projects for the state. These will provide a boost to the Char Dham Yatra and tourism in the state, he said. The CM also heard the issues raised by representatives of organisations working on the project packages and directed the officials concerned for their redressal. He said that the State administration should take swift action on issues which are not being resolved at the level of the district magistrates. Officials were also directed to immediately resolve the prob- lems being faced in supply of construction materials to the executing agencies. He also said that the executing agencies should facilitate as much employment opportunities for the local people as possible. Rawat further said that the local ITI students should be trained in operation and main- tenance of the modern machin- ery being used in the project so that they can also access employment opportunities under the project. Informing about the progress of the project, officials of the RVNL said that work on the Veerbhadra-New Rishikesh block section has been com- pleted. One ROB and one RUB have also been constructed in Rishikesh. Work on 17 tunnels in the project has been divid- ed into 10 packages. Further, work has also been started on ROB at Lachmoli and across the Alaknanda in Srinagar. Work on road bridges is under- way at Srinagar, Gauchar and Siwai. The officials further informed that work on the Rishikesh-Devprayag block section and Devprayag- Karnprayag block section are to be completed by 2023-24 and2024-25 respectively. To connect the Char Dham- Gangotri, Yamunotri, Badrinath and Kedarnath by train, work on alignment of four railway lines totalling to 327 kilometre length is also being undertaken. The CM’s industrial advi- sor KS Panwar, economic advi- sor Alok Bhatt, chief secretary Om Prakash, secretaries RK Sudhanshu, Shailesh Bagauli, special secretary PM Dhakate, additional secretary MS Bisht, Rishikesh-Karnprayag rail line chief project manager Himanshu Badoni and other officials concerned were also present in the meeting. EXcP[c^R^_[TcTAXbWXZTbW:Pa]_aPhPV aPX[_a^YTRc^]cXTbcaTbbTbCBA CWT2bPXScWPcP[[cWTSXbcaXRc PVXbcaPcTbWPeTQTT]SXaTRcTSc^ aTb^[eT_a^YTRcaT[PcTSXbbdTbX]cWTXa aTb_TRcXeTPaTPbCWTAXbWXZTbW :Pa]_aPhPVaPX[[X]TP]ScWT2WPa 3WPa^PS_a^YTRcPaTX_^acP]c _a^YTRcbU^acWTBcPcTCWTbTfX[[ _a^eXSTPQ^^bcc^cWT2WPa3WP HPcaPP]Sc^daXbX]cWTBcPcTWT bPXS ?=BQ 347A03D= The number of novel Coronavirus (Covid-19) in Uttarakhand increased to 76275 on Thursday with the state health department report- ing 491 fresh cases of the dis- ease. The death toll from the disease also mounted to 1263 on Thursday with the state health department reporting the death of 12 patients from Covid-19. The department dis- charged 433 patients of the dis- ease after their recovery on the day. A total of 69,271 patients have so far recovered from the disease. The recovery percent- age from the disease now stands at 90.82 and the sample positivity rate is 5.53 percent. Five patients of the disease were reported dead at All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Rishikesh on Thursday. Three patients of the Covid-19 succumbed to the disease at the Shri Mahant Indiresh hospital Dehradun on the day. Two patients of the disease died at Sushila Tiwari government hospital, Haldwani while one patient each were reported dead at Himalayan hospital Dehradun and Government Doon Medical College (GDMC) Dehradun. The health department reported 179 cases of the dis- ease from Dehradun, 76 from Nainital, 52 from Haridwar, 42 from Chamoli, 25 from Almora, 24 from Pauri, 23 from Tehri, 18 from Bageshwar, 16 from Udham Singh Nagar, 13 from Uttarkashi, nine from Champawat, eight from Rudraprayag and six from Pithoragarh. The State now has 4967 active cases of the disease. Dehradun is continuing to remain at the top of the table of active cases with 1399 cases while with 691 active cases, Haridwar is at second spot. Pauri now is at third position with 432 cases, Nainital has 413, Pithoragarh 367, Udham Singh Nagar 313, Chamoli 302, Tehri 289, Almora 216, Uttarkashi 165, Champawat 156 and Bageshwar 137 active cases of the disease. With only 87 active cases of Covid-19, Rudraprayag now is at the bottom of the table. 3_fYT!)S_e^d]_e^dc d_''%Y^Eµ[XQ^T !STPcWb#( UaTbWRPbTb aT_^acTS^] CWdabSPh ?=BQ 347A03D= Following detection of Covid-19 among two of its employees, the office of the Uttarakhand Human Rights Commission (HRC) would remain closed for three days. The administrative officer of the Shastradhara road located office, Harish Chandra Pandey said that RTPCR test of two staff members was found pos- itive on Thursday. He said that the extensive sanitisation of the building would be done on Friday and the office would now open on December 7. CWTBcPcT7A2^UUXRT c^aTPX]R[^bTSU^a cWaTTSPhb
- 4. ]PcX^]#347A03D=k5A830H k342414A#!! ?=BQ =4F34;78 India’s Covid-19 caseload breached the 95-lakh mark on Thursday while the total number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 89.73 lakh pushing the national recovery rate to 94.11 per cent, according to the Union Health Ministry. The total coronavirus cases mounted to 95,34,964 with 35,551 new infections being reported in a day, while the death toll climbed to 1,38,648 with 526 new fatalities. The number of people who have recuperated from the dis- ease surged to 89,73,373 push- ing the national recovery rate to 94.11 per cent, while the Covid-19 case fatality rate stands at 1.45 per cent. The active Covid-19 case- load continued to remain below 5 lakh. There are 4,22,943 active coronavirus infections in the country which comprises 4.44 per cent of the total caseload, the data stated. India’s Covid-19 tally had crossed the 20-lakh mark on August 7, 30 lakh on August 23 and 40 lakh on September 5. It went past 50 lakh on September 16, 60 lakh on September 28, 70 lakh on October 11, crossed 80 lakh on October 29, and surpassed 90 lakh on November 20. India has reported more daily recoveries than the daily new cases during the past 24 hours. While 35,551 persons were found to be infected with Covid in India, during the same period, India has regis- tered 40,726 new recoveries. It has led to a net decline of 5,701 cases from the total Active Caseload in the last 24 hours. The new recoveries con- tinue to overtake the daily new cases continuously since the past 6 days. India’s active case- load has fallen under the 4.5 per cent mark. . The trend of more daily recoveries than the daily cases has led to a continuous con- traction of India’s Active Caseload. It has ensured that India’s present active caseload of 4,22,943 consists of just 4.44 per cent of India’s Total Positive Cases. New Recoveries outnum- bering the daily New Cases has also improved the Recovery Rate to 94.11% today. The total recovered cases stand at 89,73,373. The gap between Recovered cases and Active cases is steadily increasing and presently stands at 85,50,430. With 5,924 persons recov- ering from COVID, Kerala recorded maximum number of recoveries. Delhi registered another 5,329 daily recoveries while Maharashtra 3,796 new recoveries. Ten States/UTs have con- tributed 75.5 per cent of the new cases, said the Ministry. 4`gZUTRdV]`RU aRde*=^Rc ?=BQ =4F34;78 The Congress on Thursday stepped up the demand for the immediate scrapping of the farm laws in view of the farmers’ protest in the nation- al capital. Former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi said in a tweet,”Accepting less than scrapping of three black farm laws will be deceit to farmers and the country.” Rahul said it would be a betrayal of India and its farm- ers if the Centre fails to repeal the farm laws. The grand old party has been attacking the govern- ment over the use of force against the protesting farmers, and urged them to withdraw the new farm laws and redress the grievances of the protest- ers. Taking to Twitter ahead of talks between farmers and government, Rahul Gandhi wrote, “Accepting anything less than the complete with- drawal of black farm laws would be a betrayal of India and its farmers.” Rahul’s remarks come at a time when farmers from sev- eral states are protesting at Delhi borders against the Centre’s new agriculture reform laws. A day before, Rahul had attacked the Centre over its claim of doubling farmers’ income and alleged that their income in fact “halved” under the “suit-boot” government, while that of its crony friends has grown four times. “They said farmers’ income will be doubled. What they did was increase the income of ‘friends’ four times and halved that of farmers. This is a government of suit- boot, lies and loot,” the Congress leader said in a tweet. Rahul also shared a video showing police using water cannons and firing tear gas shells during protests by farmers with a speech of Prime Minister Narendra Modi playing in the back- ground wherein he says his government is taking steps to resolve the problems faced by farmers and double their income. “Modi government, stop giving ‘jumlas’ (rhetoric) to farmers, stop the dishonesty and atrocities, stop giving them the falsehood of talks, (and) abolish all three black laws which are against farm- ers and labourers,” Rahul Gandhi said. 2^]VaTbbSTP]Sb XTSXPcTfXcWSaPfP[ ^UP[[cWaTTUPa[Pfb ?=BQ =4F34;78 Congress’ Lok Sabha leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury on Thursday requested Speaker Om Birla to convene a short Winter Session of the House to discuss several issues including the farmers’ agitation and preparation of COVID-19 vac- cine. In a letter to Birla, Chowdhury, also the West Bengal Congress chief, said that the winter session of the House be convened with all the COVID-19 protocols in place to help the people understand the important issues the coun- try is facing at present. “There are a number of very important issues that the nation is facing in present times. The most notable among them are the ongoing farmers’ agitation and the status/prepa- ration of the COVID-19 vac- cine,” the letter read. Listing issues like “eco- nomic slowdown, unemploy- ment scenario, continuous stand-off along the India-China border and unabated ceasefire violation along the India- Pakistan border”, Chowdhury said, “There is a need for a thorough and transparent debate/discussion on all the above-mentioned important issues.” 2^]V;B[TPSTa2W^fSWah bTTZbbW^acFX]cTaBTbbX^] c^PSSaTbbUPaTab´XbbdTb ?=BQ =4F34;78 Union Home Ministry on Thursday released a list of thetop10policestationsinIndia for the year 2020. Nongpok policestationinManipurtopped the first followed by Suramnagalam AWPS in Tamil Nadu and Kharsang police sta- tioninArunachalPradeshinthe 2020’s top 10 police stations in the country. The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) in a statement said that 2020’s survey for the best police station was done by MHA under “challenging cir- cumstances” due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. It also said that Home Minister Amit Shah had noted that a “vast majority” of police stations shortlisted for the list were from small towns and rural areas. Top10policestationsaward startedin2015aspersuggestion of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the DGPs conference. The best police stations were selected from a total of 16,671 police stations on certain para- meters,saidMHA.“Fromthese, 75 police stations were selected for the next stage, out of which 10 wereselected as the country’s best police stations. A total of 4,065respondentsparticipatedin the survey,’ said MHA. The fourth best police sta- tion award was given to Jhilmili police station in Chhattisgarh, followed by Sanguem in Goa, KalighatinAndaman,Andaman andNicobarIslands,Pakyongin Sikkim, Kanth in Moradabad, UttarPradesh,KhanvelinDadra and Nagar Haveli and JammikuntaTownpolicestation in Karimnagar, Telangana. _^[XRTbcPcX^]b VTc70PfPaSbU^a QTbc_^[XRX]V ?=BQ =4F34;78 The Centre on Thursday said that the class 10th and 12th Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) exams for the year 2021 will be conducted in the convention- al written mode and that as of now there is no consideration to conduct the exams online. “The Board examinations of 2021 will be in the regular written manner and not online,” the CBSE stated. The dates of examination, however, have not been decided yet, Education Ministry officials said. Besides this, the CISCE, which conducts the ISC and ICSE board exams has written to the chief ministers of all states and union territories asking for permission to par- tially reopen schools from January 4 so that board exam students of classes 10 and 12 could participate in project works, practical works, SUPW, and doubt-clearing sessions. According to the Ministry of Education, “Conducting the examinations is important to ensure the progress as well as for the better future of the stu- dents”. This year, amid the pan- demic and ‘new normal’ scheme of things, a wide range of discussions have been underway among students, parents and teachers regarding the examinations. From registration of Board exams to classroom opera- tions, everything is being con- ducted virtually. Earlier, Union Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank had said: “Online edu- cation is a big challenge for stu- dents who are constantly away from school and college. But students should always be ready to turn this challenge into an opportunity.” In view of all such possi- bilities, the government has taken a new initiative to con- duct the examinations timely amid the Covid-19 situation. The Education Minister has planned a three-stage dia- logue with the alumni, parents and teachers for conducting the examinations. He is likely to communicate directly with stu- dents, parents and teachers through webinars on three dif- ferent dates. After this virtual dialogue, the education minister will review the examinations to be held in the states and union ter- ritories. In this way, a detailed plan to conduct the examina- tions will be made according to the orders of the Ministry of Health, Ministry of Home Affairs. “The biggest challenge is to study with better resolve and will, and to release the results on time so that students do not waste an entire academic year,” he said, adding “for the better future of students, it is neces- sary to conduct examinations across the country on time”. The Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISCE) said in a statement that in case schools are allowed to reopen, they would follow all the safety guidelines and SOPs prescribed by the government. CISCE has also asked the dates for the state elections to be held in April-May 2021 from the Chief Election Commissioner of India so that CISCE can finalise the ICSE board exam 2021 and ISC board exam 2021 dates, the commission said in their offi- cial statement. 21B4´b cWP]S !cWTgPbc^QT WT[SX]R^]eT]cX^]P[faXccT]^ST ?=BQ =4F34;78 The NIA has arrested accused Gopal Oraon of Khunti dis- trict, Jharkhand, in connection with a case relating to a human trafficking racket running in guise of placement agencies. Oraon was a close associate of arrested accused Panna Lal Mahto and was actively involved in human trafficking racket, the NIA said on Thursday. The case arose out of FIR No. 07/2019 dated July 19, 2019 registered at PS-AHTU, Khunti, Jharkhand under var- ious Sections of the Indian Penal Code and relevant Sections of the Bonded Labor System (Abolition) Act. The NIA re-registered the case as RC-09/2020/NIA/DLI on March 4 this year and took up the investigation. =80PaaTbcb^]TX] WdP]caPUUXRZX]VRPbT ?=BQ =4F34;78 In the absence of human-to- human contact due to coro- navirus induced lockdowns, job losses and social isolation, pet animals filled the need by providing much-wanted com- fort via cuddles, pats and a con- stant physical presence, accord- ing to a study published in the journal of Behavioural Economics for Policy (JBEP). Researchers from University of South Australia asserted that as pets have played a lifesaving role in 2020, the Governments need take notice of this connections. Hospitals, hospices and aged care facilities should be encour- aging pet connections with residents, they said in the study. Lead author Dr Janette Young underlined that physical touch is a sense that has been taken for granted - even over- looked - until Covid-19 visit- ed our door earlier this year. “To fill the void of loneli- ness and provide a buffer against stress, there has been a global upsurge in people adopt- ing dogs and cats from animal shelters during lockdowns. Breeders have also been inun- dated, with demands for pup- pies quadrupling some waiting lists,” she said. It is estimated that more than half the global population share their lives with one or more pets. The health benefits have been widely reported, but little data exists regarding the specific benefits that pets bring to humans in terms of touch. Touch is an understudied sense, but existing evidence indicates it is crucial for growth, development and health, as well as reducing the levels of the stress hormone cortisol in the body. It is also thought that touch may be par- ticularly important for older people as other senses decline, she said. In interviews with 32 peo- ple, more than 90 per cent said touching their pets both com- forted and relaxed them - and the pets seemed to need it as well while many referenced pets’ innate ability to just “know” when their human counterparts weren’t feeling well and to want to get physi- cally close to them. Kavita Kumar, a Defence Colony resident in New Delhi, agreed with the observation recalling how her furry pet, Muffin, has been a harbinger of peace and solace in these trying times. “He has been able to gauge my ups and downs and has provided me with sane and streamlines thoughts taking away the stress sur- rounding us,” said Kumar a teacher in a Delhi school Unnati G Hunjan and Jayasankara Reddy, researchers from Christ University, Karnataka in their study in Sage Journals too have talked about various benefits of touch healing of pets. “It also releas- es biochemicals which can further boost the immune sys- tem and enhance health and well-being, “ they said. ?TcP]XP[bcda]bPeX^dab X]cXTb^U]^R^]cPRc ?=BQ =4F34;78 The lockdowns due to Covid-19 were harder for people with disabilities (PwDs) with a study noting that about 84.7 per cent participants inter- viewed had to borrow food to cope with financial crisis, 81 per cent reported experiencing high levels of stress while 28 per cent postponed their scheduled medical appointments. The CBM India, in collab- oration with IIPH Hyderabad and Humanity Inclusion had conducted the study across 14 States on the Impact of Covid-19 on PwDs with an aim to understand the level of dis- ruption on their living condi- tions and related restrictions. “The aim was also to gen- erate evidence to be prepared for future pandemics or emer- gencies, “ said Prof GVS Murthy, Director, IIPH Hyderabad. The observations were distressing as study revealed that the pandemic impacted the health/ mental health and rehabilitation, edu- cation, livelihood and social participation of PwDs. For instance, 42.5 per cent, i.e., two out of every five PwDs reported that lockdown had made it difficult for them to access routine medical care even as isolation, abandon- ment, and violence were other worrying psycho-social prob- lems reported, reflecting the lack of empathy on the part of their family during the difficult times. At least 81.6 per cent reported experiencing moder- ate to high levels of stress. Among the 34.5 per cent who stated that they needed infor- mation on mental health issues, only 25.9 per cent had access to such services. Only 20 per cent were able to get regular mental health counselling or therapy related services during the lockdown period, and 11.4 per cent faced problems getting their regular psychiatric medicines. 58.2 per cent were unhappy that the therapy sessions for their child with disability has ceased dur- ing the lockdown, said the study. Participants with varied impairments like physical, visu- al, intellectual and speech and hearing impairments were from Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha, Delhi, Uttarakhand, Assam, Meghalaya, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, and Maharashtra. “People with disability suf- fered significantly more than the rest of the population in accessing health and rehabili- tation care during the Covid lockdown. We need to be ade- quately prepared so that we do not comprise their health needs,” said Prof Murthy while Dr. Sara Varughese from CBM India, added “Many faced dif- ficulties in even accessing basic necessities. Incomes were com- promised and even withdraw- ing their money from their bank accounts was a challenge.” The lockdown also posed major difficulties in accessing medicines due to travel restric- tions, out-patient services at hospitals/clinics, regular blood pressure monitoring, rehabili- tation services. 3Z'V IRUFHG WR ERUURZ IRRG LQ ORFNGRZQ ?C8Q =4F34;78 The Centre informed the Supreme Court on Thursday that its guidelines do not contain any instructions regarding affixing posters and signages outside the homes of Covid-19 patients and there cannot be any stigma attached to it. The Government said this before a bench headed by Justice Ashok Bhushan which reserved order on a plea seek- ing directions to do away with the practice of pasting posters outside the homes of those infected by coronavirus. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta referred to the affidavit filed in the apex court by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) and told the bench, also comprising Justices R S Reddy and M R Shah, that the guidelines do not require any such affixation of posters. “The Central government guidelines do not require this,” he said, adding, “There cannot be any stigmatic impact”. The bench asked Mehta whether the Centre can issue an advisory that this should not be done. To this, Mehta said the cen- tral government has already done this. “We will close it. Heard. Judgement reserved,” the bench said. The counsel appearing for the petitioner told the bench that there are no such instruc- tions in the guidelines to affix posters outside the home of those found COVID positive but the “reality is very different”. “Posters are also affixed with names of COVID positive patients on it,” the counsel said. =^SXaTRcXeTU^aPUUXgX]V_^bcTab^dcbXST W^Tb^U2^eXS_PcXT]cb6^eccT[[bB2 ?C8Q =4F34;78 The Supreme Court Thursday granted antici- patory bail to former Punjab DGP Sumedh Singh Saini in a fresh case lodged in the 1991 disappearance and mur- der of a junior engineer Balwant Singh Multani. A bench of justices Ashok Bhushan, R Subhash Reddy and M R Shah allowed the appeal of Saini and set aside an order of the Punjab and Haryana High Court declining him the pre- arrest bail in the 29-year-old case. The top court directed Punjab Police to release Saini on bail in the event of arrest in the fresh case on furnish- ing of a personal bond of Rs 1 lakh and two sureties of the like amount. It directed Saini to sur- render his passport and to cooperate with the investiga- tion in the fresh case without any prejudice to his rights and contentions in the pend- ing proceedings before the top court for quashing of the FIR. B2VaP]cbQPX[c^Tg36?BPX]X X] (( P[[TVTSdaSTaRPbT ?C8Q =4F34;78 The Delhi High Court has granted custody parole for three days to jailed former MP Mohd Shahabuddin, who is lodged in Tihar Jail and serv- ing life term in a murder case, to meet his family in the national capital, noting that the police departments of Bihar and Delhi are in unison that they cannot assure his safety in Siwan. 72VaP]cbRdbc^Sh _Pa^[Tc^1XWPa? BWPWPQdSSX] 0Xa2^^S^aT10W[dfP[XPBTRaTcPah^U:T]SaXhPBPX]XZ1^PaS_X]bcWT0aTS5^aRTb5[PV3PhQPSVT^]2WXTU^UcWT0ah BcPUU6T]TaP[=PaPeP]TX]=Tf3T[WX^]CWdabSPh ?C8 NewDelhi:TheSupremeCourt Thursday refused to entertain a contempt plea filed by Indian Medical Association (IMA) againsttheDelhiChiefSecretary for alleged non-payment of salaries to doctors and asked it to approach the high court which is dealing with the issue. A bench of Justices Ashok Bhushan, R Subhash Reddy and M R Shah said the issue was being dealt with by the Delhi High Court and there is no point in entertaining this plea in the apex court. Senior advocate Maninder Singh, appearing for IMA, said the salary for April and May was paid after the high court's inter- vention but no salary was paid again from June to October. The bench said the high court had already passed its order on July 29 and it is mon- itoring the issue. Singh submitted doctors are termed as frontline warriors and they have to be paid salary on time but there was no sub- stantial hearing in the HC. He said that after the con- tempt application was filed in the top court, salaries for the months of June to October were paid to the doctors. Singh contended that doc- tors should be paid their salary on time to which the bench said that there is no doubt that salary has to be paid and Union of India has already passed an order in this regard. On July 29, the Delhi HC had told the AAP Government to release to the North Delhi Municipal Corporation (NrDMC) the funds it requires topaythestipendsoftheresident doctors in the six hospitals run by the civic body. PTI B2aTUdbTbc^T]cTacPX]80bR^]cT_c _[TP^eTa]^]_PhT]c^UbP[PaXTbc^S^Rb
- 5. ]PcX^]$347A03D=k5A830H k342414A#!! C=A067D=0C70 Q D108 In an effort to motivate the youth of Mumbai to serve the nation with pride, a Sea Harrier Monument was dedicated to the city of Mumbai by Maharashtra's Tourism and Environment Aditya Thackeray on Thursday, a day ahead of the Navy Day. Held in the presence of Rear Admiral V Srinivas, Flag Officer Commanding Maharashtra Naval Area, the dedication of the monument to the citizens of Mumbai marked “reassurance of devotion and commitment of Indian Navy towards safe- guarding our maritime bound- aries”. Located at the popular junction of Bandra Band Stand, the monument stands tall and proud next to the sea, remind- ing of the heydays of the air- craft's illustrious service towards safeguarding the maritime frontiers of the Nation. The monument showcases the Indian Navy's aviation capabilities as also keeping the legacy of INS Viraat alive from whose deck the aircraft oper- ated. The Indian Navy became only the second country to fly the Sea Harrier when it was inducted in 1983. The aircraft operated from the deck of INS Viraat. Built by the British Aerospace, the Sea Harrier was a Short Take-Off and Vertical Landing/Vertical Take-Off and Landing (STOVL/ VTOL) jet fighter, reconnaissance and attack aircraft. The aircraft formed part of INAS 300 squadron popularly known as “White Tigers” whose legacy is being continued by the latest MIG 29 K fighters onboard INS Vikramaditya. ?A0344?B0G4=0 Q 0;860A7 Despite the cold December, foreign birds are not com- ing on Shekha Jheel. While these days there were plenty of foreign birds on the lake and some birds also breed, but due to lack of water in the lake, the birds have not come here this year. In the last week of October, the foreign birds started com- ing here, but this time due to the halting of the upper Ganga Canal and the lack of rain, only 10% water is left in the lake. Due to the water scarcity that has been going on for twenty days, only 2% of the vis- itor birds are seen on the lake. At the same time, environ- mentalists are blaming the administration and public rep- resentatives for the plight of the lake. It is alleged that after the declaration of the bird sanctu- ary, the construction of 2 tube- wells, administrative buildings, toilets and boundary walls was proposed with a budget of 3 crores and 4 lakhs. In which administrative buildings were built, while the tube-well required for the lake is still pending. If tube wells had been arranged, there would have been no scarcity of water in the lake and birds would have stayed. Nature guide Mohammad Ishaq told that the lake was dried in December 2003, 17 years ago. Till then the then DFO Anupam Gupta had con- structed footpaths due to which the water in the lake was reduced, but this time due to lack of water in the canal and less rain, the water of the lake is decreasing day by day. Aligarh: In protest against the 3 farm laws, under the Delhi Jam Program of 32 Farmers Organizations, the workers of Bhanu, the Indian Farmers Union of Aligarh, continued to stay on the Delhi Noida Border. They announced that the protest will continue till the law is changed. The Indian Farmers Union Bhanu is on an indefinite strike under the leadership of National President Thakur Bhanu Pratap Singh on Noida Delhi Border for the demand of farmers. During this, State President Yogesh Pratap Singh has demanded that the strike will continue till the purchase of farmer’s produce at the min- imum support price will be legalized and the anti-farmer’s laws will be changed. State General Secretary Dr. Shailendra Pal Singh said that now the conch of the battle with the central government has been sounded. PNS B0D60AB4=6D?C0 Q :;:0C0 Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has extended her support to the farmers’ movement and asked the Centre to repeal the three “oppressive laws” threatening a nationwide movement by her party if the “anti-people” legis- lations were not taken back immediately. Farmers from Punjab, Haryana, UP, Bihar and else- where were protesting in Delhi against the enacting of the Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020; the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill, 2020 and the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Bill, 2020 passed by the Centre. “I am very much concerned about the farmers, their lives and livelihood. GOI [govern- ment of India] must withdraw the anti-farmers bills. If they do not do so immediately we will agitate throughout the state and the country. From the very start, we have been strongly opposing these anti-farmer bills,” Banerjee said. Bengal’s ruling Trinamool Congress was likely to hold a meeting on Friday to discuss the strategy regarding the pro- posed movement even as a number of leaders are in favour of taking a large number of farmers from Bengal to Delhi to support the movement. The Chief Minister tweet- ed saying “We will discuss how the Essential Commodities Act is impacting common people and resulting in skyrocketing prices. The central government must withdraw this anti-people law.” She earlier told in a meet- ing how the three laws were complimentary to each other and would hit the farmers, townsmen, poor and the mid- dle class equally hard in the days to come. “This Government is not happy with selling the govern- ment properties to the priva- teers. Now they are selling the farmers to the private busi- nessmen… They have brought a ruinous law that will send the farmers at the mercy of the cor- porate houses who will buy off their produce for low prices. The other laws would allow the same corporate to collect the produce and hoard them with- out police intervention till the prices go up … this is blatant throwing of the common peo- ple at the mercy of the rich,” she said. On the large-scale privati- zation she said, how “the Government of India is selling everything. You cannot sell Railways, Air India, Coal, BSNL, BHEL, banks, defence etc. Withdraw ill-conceived disinvestment and privatization policy. We must not allow treasures of our nation to be transformed into BJP party’s personal assets,” adding her party would hit the streets soon against the central policies, prompting the oppo- sition BJP to call her declaration a “vote-catching ploy which the people will not believe.” While BJP leader Sayantan Basu said how the Chief Minister was speaking like the erstwhile Marxists, CPI(M) politburo member Md Salim said Banerjee was too late in taking up the issue. He said, “Didi has woken up late when the movement has already reached Delhi. The Left parties have already held a nationwide movement… She is trying to stem the rot in the TMC as it is getting decimated in Bengal. ?8=44A=4FBB4AE824Q :;:0C0 Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday announced a host of “out- reach” measures that could to some extent off- set probable the loss of clout with the exit of powerful mass leader Suvendu Adhikari who is almost on the verge of quitting the party the ruling Trinamool Congress. The Chief Minister told reporters her Government decision to cap the price of RTPCR test for ascertaining corona infection to Rs 950/-. Earlier the test was priced at Rs 1,250. “I have told that no one will be allowed to charge more than Rs 950/- Banerjee said. Initially the tests cost anywhere between Rs 4,000 and Rs 4,500 which was later reduced by the Chief Minister to Rs 2,000 and then to Rs 1,500. Apart from reducing the charge of coro- na test Banerjee also announced that about one million students of government schools would be provided with tabs for continuing with their online classes. “There are about 9.5 lakh students (class XII) in 14,000 government aided schools and 636 madarsas… they have been facing immense problem in continuing their online classes. So we have decided to provide them with tabs so that they can carry on their edu- cation,” Banerjee said adding to help the stu- dents in lesser classes the government schools will be provided with computers for facili- tating online education. Apart from this the Chief Minister also announced 3 per cent dearness allowance for state government employees in January. “We have limited resources still we will provide 3 percent DA to our Government employees in January,” Banerjee said even as BJP leader Samik Bhattacharya said that “these decisions are aimed at winning back the fleeing elec- torate … but people have tolerated her for ten years they are not willing to see her coming to power again… so these measure will not help her win elections.” Launching a scathing attack on the Chief Minister, State BJP president Dilip Ghosh said the populist schemes --- including Duarey Sarkar (Government at the door steps) --- that the Government is unleashing are aimed at the voters but the Chief Minister will have to answer as to what she was doing all these years. Why her officers did not meet the peo- ple then… why the people would have to return empty handed from the BDO offices… so these schemes will not work for her now.” On rebellions in the TMC Ghosh said that “there are more police men guarding the TMC leaders than they are guarding the people because the TMC is afraid of these leaders leaving the party like the ones who are com- ing out of Trinamool now.” Though he would not name Suvendu Adhikari inside sources said that the power- ful TMC leader had already been contacted by two very senior BJP leaders including an MP. Earlier even as the efforts to pacify him failed the TMC leadership said they would not communicate with him any longer. “We are not going to him again. Now he will have to take his decision… We have communicated our mind to him,” senior leader and TMC MP Saugato Roy who was holding dialogues with him as emissary of the Chief Minister said. ?8=44A=4FBB4AE824 Q :;:0C0 Another woman from Bengal has achieved a rare feat to become the first in her trade in the country. Shyamli Haldar has become the first woman to head the air traffic control (ATC) not only in Kolkata but entire India. Among the first batch of women air traffic controllers joining the servicer 31 years ago Haldar was promoted as the General Manager of Kolkata ATC. She is the second Bengali woman to achieve a similar feat in aviation industry. Durba Banerjee was incidentally the first Indian woman to fly. Joining the service in 1989 Haldar was trained at Civil Aviation Training College in Allahabad. As the ATC top offi- cer managing more than 300 controllers she would mind the skies as far as Hyderabad, sources said. The job is extremely tedious and a controller not only has to be skill full but also sincere and attentive and con- fident… and she combines all these qualities,” an official at the Netaji Subhas International Airport said. A good cook of biryani Haldar a single mother, had efficiently managed her pro- fessional and personal require- ments quite smoothly. “I have been working for the past 30 years and have tried to give my best to my job and to whatev- er I do … Till now things have been smooth for me” she said adding she “never take office to my home and home to my office” making both the works equally comfortable. Aligarh: The implementation of National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 will transform India as it connects the past with the future and focuses on leading India to the top,” said Union Education Minister, Shri Ramesh Pokhriyal 'Nishank'. He was speaking in the online seminar on 'National Education Policy-2020' of the Aligarh Muslim University and the virtual book release func- tion of 'Physics of Neutrino Interactions' (Cambridge University Press) authored by Prof M Sajjad Athar and Prof S K Singh. Stressing that NEP is based on concepts of equity, quality and accessibility, the Education Minister said that the education policy is aimed to bring India's diverse nature in terms of regional languages with the benefit of providing primary education in mother tongue. PNS Jaipur: Chief Minister Shri Ashok Gehlot said that the S t a t e Government is constantly mak- ing sensitive decisions towards the welfare of Divyang and to prepare them as skilled human resource. He said that in the public letter, we had promised to pro- vide facilities to Divyang sim- ilar as provided to BPL. Soon the proper decision will be made in this regard. This will be another big humatarian decision of the state government to increase from three percent to four percent Reservation for the disabled in state services and increase in their honors pen- sion amount. Mr. Gehlot was addressing the State Level Divyangajan honor ceremony on the occas- sion of International Divyang Day on Thursday at the Chief Minister's residence. Virtual media District col- lectors involved in this program organized by Institutions doing remarkable work in the area of welfare of Divyang were hon- ored in the districts and also provided accessories to Divyang. The Chief Minister said that there was a time when Divyang was seen from the inferior perspective due to his physical dependence. Even several times their families also considered them as burden. After the introduc- tion of this day from the United Nations 1992, there was a great start at international level to bring social changes. PWPaPbWcaPbC^daXbP]S4]eXa^]T]cX]XbcTa0SXchPCWPRZTaPhfXcWATPa 0SXaP[EBaX]XePb5[PVUUXRTa2^P]SX]VPWPaPbWcaP=PeP[0aTPPcP RTaT^]hPaZX]VcWTSTSXRPcX^]^UBTP7PaaXTa^]dT]cc^cWTh^dcW^U dQPXPc1P]SaP1P]SBcP]SYd]RcX^]^]CWdabSPh dQPXVTcbBTP7PaaXTa^]dT]c Bareilly (UP): The Uttar Pradesh Police has made its first arrest under the new anti-conversion law, days after a man complained that someone is harassing his daughter in a bid to change her religion, offi- cials said on Thursday. Uttar Pradesh Governor Anandiben Patel on November 28 had given assent to the Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Ordinance, 2020, against forcible or fraudulent religious conversions. The law provides for imprisonment of up to 10 years and a maximum fine of Rs 50,000 under different cate- gories. “This is the first arrest under the new law. Accused Owais Ahmad was arrested from the Richha railway gate in the Bahedi area here on Wednesday. He was produced before a local court and was sent to 14 days judicial cus- tody,” Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of Police, Bareilly, Rajesh Kumar Pandey said. The case was registered at the Devarniya police station in Bareilly district on November 28 against Ahmad, officials said, adding that it was the first case to be registered in the state under the new law. Based on a complaint from Tikaram, a resident of Sharif Nagar village in Devarniya, the case was registered under sections of the Indian Penal Code and the anti- conversion law. The complainant has accused Ahmad, a resident of the same vil- lage, of trying to convert his daughter through “allurement”, police said. According to the complaint, Tikaram''s daughter and Ahmed studied together in Class 12. Three years ago, the accused started pressuring her to undergo religious conversion and perform ''nikaah'' (marriage) with him, according to the complaint. But when the woman opposed, he threatened to kidnap her, Tikaram has said in his complaint. The complainant''s daughter married someone else in June. However, Ahmed continued to harass her and her family mem- bers, he has alleged. Under the Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful ConversionofReligionOrdinance, 2020, which deals with different categories of offences, a marriage will be declared “null and void” if the conversion of a woman is solely for that purpose, and those wishing to change their religion after marriage need to apply to the district magistrate. Agencies CVaVR]WRc^]Rhd`cWRTV _ReZ`_hZUVdeZc+R^ReR 83 3ROLFH PDNHV ILUVW DUUHVW XQGHU QHZ DQWLFRQYHUVLRQ ODZ 4YTY_edbUQSXcdU`cdbid_e^T_ _cc_VS_edgYdX1TXY[QbYµcUhYd C=A067D=0C70 Q D108 Maharashtra’s Zilla Parishad primary schoolteacher RanjitsinhDisalehasbaggedthe prestigious the Global Teacher Prize (GTP) 2020 worth USD One Million (Rs.7.40 crore). Disale, who transformed the “life chances of young girls” at the Zilla Parishad Primary School at Paritewadi in Solapur district of western Maharashtra, was selected from over 12,000 nominations and applications from over 140 countries around the world. The Global Teacher Prize was set up to recognize one exceptional teacher who has made an outstanding contribu- tion to the profession as well as to shine a spotlight on the important role that teachers play in society. Disaleiscreditedwithtrans- forming education by using QR codes and other innovations to impart lessons which helped drastically reduce dropout rates, especially among the girl stu- dents. He was among the 10 glob- alteachersshortlistedinOctober for the top global honour. He wasdeclaredthewinneratacer- emony held in London on Thursday. “The impact of Ranjitsinh (Disale’s) interventions has been extraordinary: there are now no teenage marriages in the village and 100 per cent attendance by girls at the school. The school was also recently awarded the best school in the district with 85% of his students achieving A gradesinannualexams.Onegirl from the village has now grad- uated from University, some- thing seen as an impossible dream before Ranjitsinh arrived,” the GTP’s official cita- tion stated. A central team visited the ZillaParishadPrimarySchoolat Paritewadi in Solapur district whereDisaleteaches,studiedthe system and submitted its report in 2018 and finally the National CouncilofEducationalResearch Training(NCERT)decidedto adopttheQRcodesintheirtext- books. Amajorityofthegirlstu- dents were from tribal back- groundswhichdidnotprioritise education and teenage mar- riages were a common practice in the region. The Marathi-medium school, where Disale teaches, had multi-language courses in Kannada or Telugu owing to which many students were not able to perform well. Disale made it a point to learn Kannada, an official lan- guage of neighbouring Karnataka). Afterwards, he redesigned all the textbooks of primary school Std. I-IV stan- dards to ensure easier understanding by the young students. Along with unique QR codes, Disale also incorpo- rated audio poems, video lec- tures,storiesandassignmentsin Kannada which proved to be a boon for the young learners. So much so that Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella had earlier recognized Disale’s work in his book, ‘Hit Refresh’. PWP_aXPahcTPRWTafX]bV[^QP[cTPRWTa_aXiTBWTZWP9WTT[ SaXTbd_ U^aTXV]QXaSb XbbX]V 1TccTaUPRX[XcXTbc^QTVXeT]c^ 3XehP]Vbb^^])APY2 DYjR^]Z:_UZR¶dWZcdeh`^R_2E4TYZVW (GXFDWLRQ 0LQLVWHU VSHDNV RQ 1(3 LQ $08 RQOLQH VHPLQDU 0[XVPaWUPaTab_a^cTbc Pc=^XSP3T[WXQ^aSTa PVPX]bcUPa[Pfb